A psychologist investigated the effect of environmental noise on working memory. Participants in Group X memorised a list of words in a quiet room, while participants in Group Y-memorised the same list in a room with intermittent construction noise. The number of correctly recalled words was recorded.
| Participant | Group X (Quiet) | Participant | Group Y (Noisy) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 18 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 4 | 17 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 14 | 5 | 7 |
| 6 | 15 | 6 | 26 |
| 7 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| 8 | 4 | 8 | 11 |
| 9 | 13 | 9 | 6 |
| 10 | 38 | 10 | 11 |
| Median | [ ] | Median | [ ] |
Complete Table 4 by calculating the median for the two groups. Why did the researcher use the median as a measure of central tendency rather than the mean?
Practise AQA A Level Psychology Data handling and analysis with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 263 questions, matched to the AQA A Level Psychology (7182) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
