A sports physiologist is investigating whether wearing copper-infused compression sleeves affects muscle recovery rates in competitive weightlifters. Although some commercial advertisements claim that these sleeves speed up recovery, the physiologist is not aware of any peer-reviewed scientific literature or prior research on the physiological effects of copper-infused textiles on recovery.
She recruits 40 weightlifters from local gyms. After a high-intensity training session, they are asked:
'Compared to your normal recovery, did wearing the copper-infused sleeve make your muscle recovery feel 'faster', 'slower', or 'the same'?'
The results are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Responses of 40 weightlifters to the recovery question.
| Faster | Slower | The same |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | 6 | 13 |
Should the hypothesis for this study be directional? Explain your answer.
Practise AQA A Level Psychology Scientific processes with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 689 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.
