A sports psychologist was interested in the relationship between mindfulness practice (hours spent practicing per week) and competitive anxiety levels in junior academy athletes. They wanted to investigate whether or not a relationship exists between these two variables.
To measure mindfulness practice, the psychologist had the athletes complete a structured weekly log. To measure competitive anxiety, they administered a standardised psychometric questionnaire where a higher score indicated a higher level of sport-related anxiety. Fifteen junior athletes from a regional tennis academy participated in the study.
The sports psychologist decided to use a two-tailed (non-directional) hypothesis test.
Explain why they chose to use a two-tailed test in this investigation.
121 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Inferential testing (A-level only). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.