Researchers wanted to investigate whether the presence of active smartwatches (receiving notifications) affects task performance and situational anxiety during an academic test. In a laboratory experiment, 80 participants completed a 20-minute cognitive test.
The researchers recorded performance under two conditions: smartwatch notifications present on the desk, or smartwatch notifications absent. At the end of the test, they recorded task performance scores (out of 100) and situational anxiety ratings (on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is highly anxious). The results are shown in Table 1 below.
Analyse the data in Table 1 to explain three conclusions that the researchers might draw from these results.
Table 1: Means and Standard Deviations for Task Performance and Situational Anxiety
| Smartwatch notifications present | Smartwatch notifications absent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | Standard deviation | Mean | Standard deviation | |
| Task performance score | 62.10 | 12.45 | 75.80 | 8.12 |
| Situational anxiety | 6.42 | 1.95 | 3.12 | 1.05 |
638 exam-style questions on Edexcel A Level Psychology Methods. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.