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Research methods and skills

Research methods and skills

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Question 8

Dr Aris investigated the effect of divided attention on paired-associate learning. He recruited two groups of students to learn 20 pairs of associated words.

  • Group 1 (Focused Attention): Learned the word pairs in a silent room.
  • Group 2 (Divided Attention): Learned the word pairs while simultaneously listening to a spoken-word podcast.

Both groups were then tested on their recall of the 20 word pairs.

Table 1 shows the performance results of Dr Aris's experiment.

Table 1: Number of word pairs correctly recalled (out of 20)

ParticipantNumber of word pairs correctly recalled by Group 1 (Focused Attention)Number of word pairs correctly recalled by Group 2 (Divided Attention)
A149
B1712
C138
D1611
E1810
F157
G1913
H149
I1510
J1711

Using the data in Table 1:

a.

Calculate the mean score for both conditions to two decimal places. Show your workings.

[3]
b.

Explain what these mean values suggest about the effect of divided attention on paired-associate learning.

[1]
Markscheme

Research methods and skills Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Psychology
  3. /Research methods and skills

186 exam-style questions on Edexcel A Level Psychology Research methods and skills, covering Research methods and skills. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

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