The remaining condition Essays

The remaining condition Essays The remaining condition Essay The remaining condition Essay The aim of the experiment was to investigate whether using pairs of either similar or dissimilar stimuli during a dual-task would affect response times. Participants were asked to complete a dual-task in which they selected either colours or numbers from a list of words, while at the same time verbally answering a series of mental arithmetic questions. The results of the experiment showed that response times when similar stimuli were used (both tasks relating to numbers) were slower than when dissimilar stimuli were used (tasks related to colours and numbers). This provides support for the theory that we have pools of resources which are allocated to processing different types of stimuli, and thus drawing on one resource pool for two tasks will increase the response time compared to drawing on two separate resource pools. Hypotheses  The experimental hypothesis tested in this experiment was:  Participants will take longer to complete a dual-task that requires responding to similar stimuli than a dual-task that requires responding to dissimilar stimuli. This was a one tailed hypothesis.  The null hypothesis was:  There will be no difference in the time taken by participants to complete a dual-task that requires responding to similar stimuli than a dual-task that requires responding to dissimilar stimuli. Method  Design The experiment employed a between-participants design. Participants were asked to carry out two tasks at the same time (dual-task) the tasks were selecting a particular type of word from a list, while answering mathematical questions verbally. The independent variable was the type of words that the participant had to select (by placing a tick) from a list. There were two conditions in the first, participants were asked to place a tick next to words which were the name of a colour. This was the control condition, requiring two dissimilar responses. In the second, participants were asked to place a tick next to words which were numbers. This was the experimental condition, requiring two similar responses. In both conditions, while the participant was selecting words as instructed, a series of simple sums were read out and the participant was asked to calculate the answer mentally and respond verbally. The dependant variable was the time taken to complete the word selection task, to the nearest second this was recorded using a clock with a second hand. The task ended as soon as the participant had selected all the appropriate words in the list. The lists in both conditions were identical except for the words relating to the condition itself. The lists contained the same number of words, with the condition-relevant words appearing in the same positions in both lists. Words that were not relevant to the condition itself were the same for both conditions. The sums, which were read out to the participants, were the same for both conditions. The participants were allocated to a condition randomly using a coin toss until one of the conditions contained enough participants, then the remaining participants were allocated to the remaining condition. Participants The participants for the experiment were family and friends of the researcher. None of them had any specific knowledge of psychology. They were recruited by asking if they would be happy to take part in a short psychological experiment. The age range of the participants was 24 64 years and there were five men and five women. This data was added to the provided data, so that the total participants came to twenty four. Materials A clock with a second hand was used to time how long it took each participant to complete the task. The lists of words for each condition consisted of thirty six words, presented in two columns of eighteen on a sheet of A4 paper. In each column, nine words were relevant to the condition (e.g. they were a colour or a number) and these words appeared in the same position in the column for both conditions. The non-relevant words were the names of animals and were the same in both conditions. Each word had a box next to it for the participant to place a mark in if the word was a colour (condition one) or a number (condition two). The researcher used a sheet of paper with a list of sums on it to read out as the participant was completing the word selection task the same sheet was used in both conditions. Copies of these materials can be found in the appendix. Procedure Each participant was asked if they would be willing to be tested as part of an experiment. A coin toss determined which condition the participant was allocated to (until one of the conditions had enough participants, then the remaining condition was used). The age and sex of the participant was recorded. The participant was then asked to turn the piece of paper in front of them over when signalled, and to place a tick next to all the words that were the names of colours/numbers (depending on the condition) as quickly as possible. The participant was also told that they would be asked a series of mathematical sums at the same time as completing the word task. The exact instructions given to the participants in each condition can be found in the appendix. The test commenced when the second hand of the clock was at a suitable position. As the participant worked through the list ticking the relevant words, the mathematical sums were read out. The mathematical task continued until the word selection task was completed, then the time was noted again. This allowed the time taken for the task to be calculated and recorded. The participant was then told how long it had taken them to do the task, and asked whether they had any questions or comments. Results  The experimental hypothesis being tested was:  Participants will take longer to complete a dual-task that requires responding to similar stimuli than a dual-task that requires responding to dissimilar stimuli. This was a one tailed hypothesis.  The data collected was the time (seconds) it took each participant to complete the task. The mean and standard deviation for each condition are shown below.