An educational psychologist conducted a study to investigate the relationship between daily recreational smartphone usage and cognitive attentional focus in adolescents.
The psychologist recruited a sample of 10 students, aged 14 to 16, from a local high school. Each participant was asked to self-report the average daily duration (in minutes) they spent on recreational smartphone use over the course of one week. They were instructed to exclude any screen time dedicated to homework or school-related activities.
Each participant also completed a standardized attentional focus test. This test yielded a score out of 60, where higher scores indicated a superior ability to maintain concentration on complex tasks.
The raw data collected are shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1 The self-reported daily smartphone usage and attentional focus scores of 10 participants
| Participant | Average daily smartphone use (minutes) | Attentional focus score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 240 | 18 |
| 2 | 60 | 52 |
| 3 | 180 | 31 |
| 4 | 360 | 12 |
| 5 | 120 | 45 |
| 6 | 90 | 48 |
| 7 | 300 | 22 |
| 8 | 150 | 38 |
| 9 | 420 | 8 |
| 10 | 210 | 29 |
The participants estimated the average number of minutes they spent using their smartphones for recreation each day over a one-week period. Briefly explain one problem that might have occurred because of this self-report method of data collection.
38 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Self-report techniques. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.