A team of aviation researchers designed an experiment to test the effects of mild sleep deprivation on the reaction times of commercial airline pilots during emergency procedures. They recruited a sample of 30 highly experienced, active long-haul commercial pilots from major international airlines. Each participant was asked to complete two simulated flight scenarios on a high-fidelity motion-base flight simulator. Both scenarios involved responding to a sudden dual-engine failure at altitude.
Each participant completed the two simulator sessions under different conditions:
The order in which they completed the two sessions was counterbalanced.
Explain how one factor in this experiment might affect its external validity.
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.
