practical

Question 1

aim

Answer 1

• investigate the relationship between average hours of sleep and aggression, measured using the Buss and Perry questionnaire
• to investigate whether there is a relationship between hours of sleep and aggression score ( out of 145) as measured from a self reported questionnaire

Question 2

alternate hypothesis

Answer 2

there will be a significant negative correlation between sleep in hours and mins and aggression score out of 145

Question 3

sample

Answer 3

• 20 ppts
• 6 male, 14 female
• Kind Edward VI college Stourbridge
• 16-19 year old psych students
• opportunity sample

Question 4

procedure

Answer 4

• gathered through opportunity sampling- asked if they would like to take part in an experiment investigating the link between sleep and behaviour
• informed consent gained from ppts by debriefing them on the aim of the study
• ppts instructed to fill in the B+P aggression scale the day before the procedure.
• for 2 consecutive nights, ppts were told to set a timer when they went to sleep and stop this immediately after waking up.
• time spent sleeping was rounded to the nearest house
• ppts were then to complete the questionnaire within 30 minutes of waking up
• they filled out the buss and perry questionnaire on sleep and aggression, with scores being out of 145
• scores 1-8 were scored 1-5, and scores -29 were reversed .
• included questions such as “i am an even tempered person”
• average scores for both nights was collected
• ppts were then debriefed on the study and were given the right to withdraw their data

Question 5

controls

Answer 5

• 30 minutes after waking up so events during day did not affect score
• reverse questions from 9-29 so cannot guess the aim
• stopwatch and questionnaire - standardised procedure

Question 6

results

Answer 6

• after plotting the raw data on a scatter graph, we observed a weak negative correlation
• observed value 0.21 for spearmans rho lower than critical 0.38, so it was not significant to 0.05%
• therefore there is a very weak negative correlation between the number of hours of sleep and aggression
• therefore, the null hypothesis is to be accepted, that there is no relationship between sleep and aggression, and that any correlation found is due to chance

Question 7

generalisability

Answer 7

• only 16-17 year olds
• psych students
• students may have erratic sleep habits- not generalisable to the wider population

Question 8

reliability

Answer 8

• standardised procedures
• replicable

Question 9

validity

Answer 9

• doesn’t consider variables eg naps, not falling asleep until after timer
• high internal validity- questionnaire gathered quantitative data- statistically analysed, no ministerpretation
• high ecological validity- questionnaire was completed within their own homes after sleeping in their usual sleep place, so level of sleep remained realistic to what it normally would have been

Question 10

Ethics

Answer 10

• high- self reported questionnaire, therefore not causing aggression, so not increasing the risk to society
• high- debriefed, informed consent
• high- completed in their own homes

Question 11

Improvements to the study

Answer 11

• larger sample- general population
• improve sleep measurement- get them to wear a wearable device or a sleep tracking app
• low validity- doesn’t consider other variables, so include a daily log about mood, caffeine, and screen time