Spacing out learning (spaced practice) is often thought to improve learning compared to cramming (massed practice). A cognitive psychologist investigated this by asking participants to complete a complex virtual maze under two conditions. Group 1 completed 3 practice runs consecutively on one day (Massed practice). Group 2 completed 3 practice runs spaced out over three different days (Spaced practice). On the fourth day, all participants were timed on their final maze completion. The data collected is presented in the table below.
| Massed practice group | Spaced practice group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant | Time (seconds) | Rank | Participant | Time (seconds) | Rank |
| A | 105 | 9 | G | 72 | 2 |
| B | 110 | 10 | H | 65 | 1 |
| C | 95 | 7 | I | 80 | 3 |
| D | 125 | 12 | J | 98 | 8 |
| E | 115 | 11 | K | 85 | 4 |
| F | 90 | 5.5 | L | 90 | 5.5 |
| n1=6n_1 = 6n1=6 | n2=6n_2 = 6n2=6 |
Explain one strength of using quantitative data in this study.
513 exam-style questions on OCR A Level Psychology Data recording, analysis and presentation. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.