psychology discussion question

In each of the research scenarios presented below, you are required to provide answers to

various questions that ask about the Null and Alternative hypotheses, independent and

dependent variables (if any). You are also asked to comment on what might be wrong with

the experimental design employed in the study and you may be asked to provide a solution or

asked to re-design the study.

In answering the questions,

• it is in your best interests to be as precise and succinct as possible;

• type and format your answers using the questions as your headings.

There is a one (1) page limit for the answers for Scenario 1, and a one (1) page limit for the

answers for Scenario 2. Use Times or Times New Roman, 12-point font for your answers.

Your answers may be single- or double-spaced.

Scenario 1

Karsh (1983) designed an experiment on the relationship between early handling and

friendliness in cats. She randomly assigned kittens to one of three groups which differed

according to the age of first handling. The first group was handled daily from 3 to 14 weeks

of age, the second from 7 to 14 weeks of age and the third received no handling from birth to

14 weeks. Different experimenters handled each kitten on different days. “Handling” was

defined as an experimenter holding a kitten on his/her lap while petting it for 15 minutes.

Friendliness was measured by how long each kitten stayed with the experimenter when not

restrained, and by how long it took each kitten to reach the experimenter. Karsh found that

the kittens handled from 3 to 14 weeks stayed longer with the experimenter and ran more

quickly to the experimenter than kittens handled from 7 to 14 weeks. Also, kittens handled

from 7 to 14 weeks were more “friendly” than kittens who received no handling at all. Karsh

concluded that kittens should be handled as early as possible to ensure life-long friendliness

towards humans.

Answer the following questions.

1. What is the Null Hypothesis (Ho)? (4 points)

2. What is the Alternative Hypothesis (Ha)? (2 points)

3. What is (are) the Independent Variable(s)? (2 points)

4. What is (are) the Dependent Variable(s)? (2 points)

5. What are the possible confounds in Karsh’s experimental design? (8 points)

PSY2202 Research Methods in Psychology 2 Semester 1, 2015 Assignment Version G p. 2

Scenario 2

An investigator believed that sensory deprivation inhibits the intellectual development of

animals. He ran an experiment to examine this thesis in the following way. He used two rats,

each of which had just given birth to eight pups. One rat and her litter were placed in a large

cage. This cage had ample space and lots of objects to explore. The baby rats in this cage

breastfed off their mother. The second rat’s pups were separated from the mother, and each

was placed in a separate cage. These cages were quite small, and the only objects they could

see or hear were the four walls and the food and water dispensers. After five months, both

groups were tested in a multiple-T maze using food as a reward. Following 20 trials, all of the

nondeprived pups were running the maze without error, but the deprived pups were still

making several errors. This latter group frequently froze and had to be prodded to move. The

experimenter concluded that sensory deprivation inhibits intellectual development such that

deprived rats did not have the intellectual ability to learn even a simple maze.

Answer the following questions.

1. What is the Null Hypothesis (Ho)? (4 points)

2. What is the Alternative Hypothesis (Ha)? (2 points)

3. What is (are) the Independent Variable(s)? (2 points)

4. What is (are) the Dependent Variable(s)? (2 points)

5. Briefly describe the possible confounds in the experiment. (6 points)

6. Devise a solution to control the confounds in this experiment. (2 points)

PSY2202 Research Methods in Psychology 2 Semester 1, 2015 Assignment Version G p. 3

Part B: Research Analyses (t-tests) (65 points)

Question 1: Background

In an experiment on the lateralization of cortical functioning, a subject looks at a “+” sign in

the centre of a computer screen and is asked to press a key when he recognises a word which

may appear either side of the “+” sign. As a check on whether or not the word has been truly

recognised, the subject is also asked to type the word just identified. The experimental

hypothesis is that words presented in the right visual field will be more quickly recognised

than words presented in the left visual field, because the former are processed by the left

cerebral hemisphere, which is thought to be more proficient with verbal information. An

experimenter decided to examine the difference between the left and the right visual fields.

He recruited 10 subjects who were shown words in their left visual field and another 10

subjects who were shown words in their right visual field. For each of 20 subjects, the median

response time to 40 words in the left or right visual fields is recorded in the table below.

Table 1

Median word recognition times in milliseconds for words in the left and right visual fields

Subject Left Visual Field Subject Right Visual Field

1 510 11 402

2 523 12 455

3 310 13 281

4 571 14 533

5 493 15 431

6 512 16 499

7 549 17 511

8 477 18 398

9 430 19 421

10 490 20 477

Question 1: Assignment Task

Write up the analyses as you would in the Results and Discussion section of a journal article,

including the report of the central tendency, variability measures, and the outcome of the ttest

(30 points). The heading you should use at the top of the page is Results and Discussion.

You should also create a graph of the data (15 points). Follow this up with a discussion (20

points) in which you:

(a) present some conclusions about whether or not there is a difference between the left

and right visual fields when it comes to recognising verbal information;

(b) discuss the shortcomings of the study’s design and the possible confounds