A sports scientist wants to investigate whether wearing compression socks improves running endurance. She recruits a sample of 30 competitive runners from a local athletic club.
Condition 1: The runners complete a 5 km treadmill run wearing compression socks, and their completion times are recorded.
Condition 2: The same runners complete a 5 km treadmill run wearing standard athletic socks of the same brand, and their completion times are recorded.
The mean completion times (in minutes) and mean rating of perceived exertion (RPE, on a scale of 1 to 10) were calculated. The results are shown in Table 1.
Table 1 The mean completion times and mean RPE under two apparel conditions
| Compression Socks Condition | Standard Socks Condition | |
|---|---|---|
| Mean completion time (minutes) | 21.4 | 23.1 |
| Mean RPE score | 6.2 | 7.4 |
The scientist was concerned that the performance scores would be affected by the participants taking part in both conditions of the trial.
Explain one way the scientist could deal with this problem.
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.
