A cognitive psychologist wanted to test whether chewing gum improves short-term word recall.
The psychologist conducted a study using 12 student volunteers from a local college. The study used a repeated measures design. In Condition A, participants chewed gum while memorising a list of 20 words. In Condition B, participants did not chew gum while memorising a different list of 20 words.
In both conditions, participants were given 60 seconds to study the words on a projector screen, followed by a 2-minute free recall test. All participants were given standardised instructions. The participants returned to the laboratory 24 hours later to complete the second condition. The psychologist recorded the number of words correctly recalled.
Identify one extraneous variable that could have affected the results of this study. Suggest why it would have been important to control this extraneous variable and how it could have been controlled in this study.
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.