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Scientific processes

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Question 92

Study Description

A cognitive psychologist wanted to investigate whether reading comprehension speed is affected by the type of background sound.

The psychologist obtained a stratified sample of 30 students from a university department consisting of 120 undergraduates and 80 postgraduates.

Each participant was tested individually in a quiet laboratory room. They were instructed to read a 500-word academic text on environmental sustainability on a computer screen. All participants wore noise-cancelling headphones.

There were two conditions in the study:

  • Condition A: 15 participants read the text while listening to classical instrumental music through the headphones.
  • Condition B: 15 participants read the text while listening to ambient cafe noise (voices and clattering cups) through the headphones.

The psychologist recorded the exact time (in seconds) it took for each participant to read the entire text.

Identify one extraneous variable that the psychologist should have controlled in this study and explain why it should have been controlled.

[3]
Markscheme

Scientific processes Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Psychology
  3. /Scientific processes

689 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Scientific processes. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

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