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Data recording, analysis and presentation

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Question 24

Background Music and Concentration

Research suggests that auditory environments can affect cognitive performance. A cognitive psychologist investigated this using an independent measures design. They compared the concentration scores of participants who completed a complex puzzle while listening to classical music to those who completed the puzzle in silence. Concentration was scored on a scale from 0 to 20 (where 0 = 'extremely poor concentration' and 20 = 'excellent concentration'). Some of the data collected is presented in the table below.

Classical MusicSilence (No Music)
Concentration ScoreRankConcentration ScoreRank
5321
8542
12874
139106
1612117
17131410
19151511
20161814

Mann-Whitney U Formulas:

U=the smaller of U1 and U2U = \text{the smaller of } U_1 \text{ and } U_2U=the smaller of U1​ and U2​

Where:

U1=n1n2+n1(n1+1)2−∑R1 U_1 = n_1 n_2 + \frac{n_1(n_1 + 1)}{2} - \sum R_1 U1​=n1​n2​+2n1​(n1​+1)​−∑R1​

and

U2=n1n2+n2(n2+1)2−∑R2 U_2 = n_1 n_2 + \frac{n_2(n_2 + 1)}{2} - \sum R_2 U2​=n1​n2​+2n2​(n2​+1)​−∑R2​

Calculate the U U\,U value for the data collected in this study using the Mann-Whitney U U\,U formulas provided. Show your workings.

[4]

Data recording, analysis and presentation Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Psychology
  3. /Data recording, analysis and presentation