A researcher investigated the effect of a brief mindfulness meditation session on subjective anxiety levels. She conducted a controlled laboratory experiment using a sample of 20 participants.
In Condition A (Control), participants completed a state-anxiety self-report scale (from 1 to 10, where 1 = completely calm and 10 = extremely anxious) after sitting quietly in a waiting room for 15 minutes.
In Condition B (Mindfulness), the same participants completed the same 1 to 10 scale after participating in a 15-minute guided mindfulness meditation session.
The order of the conditions was counterbalanced across the participants.
The researcher analysed the data using a Wilcoxon signed-ranks test. The analysis showed that anxiety ratings were significantly lower after the mindfulness meditation session.
Explain two reasons why it was appropriate to use a Wilcoxon test in this study. Refer to the description of the study in your answer.
Practise AQA A Level Psychology Research methods with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 100 questions covering Experimental method, Observational techniques, Self-report techniques, Correlations, Content analysis (A-level only), Case studies (A-level only), Scientific processes, Data handling and analysis, and Inferential testing (A-level only), 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.