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Correlations & Meta-analysis (AQA A Level Psychology)

Exam Questions

21 mins7 questions
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Hard
1a1 mark

A study into the relationship between recreational screen time and academic achievement was conducted. Students were asked to self-report the number of hours spent watching TV, playing on their mobile phones or video games (daily recreational screen time) and their end-of-year test performances (academic performance).

The results of the study are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 The relationship between daily recreational screen time and academic performance

Scattergraph showing the relationship between daily recreational screentime and academic performance

Which of the following correlation coefficients best describes the data represented in Figure 2?

  • –0.80

  • –0.25

  • +0.25

  • +0.80

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1b3 marks

A study into the relationship between recreational screen time and academic achievement was conducted. Students were asked to self-report the number of hours spent watching TV, playing on their mobile phones or video games (daily recreational screen time) and their end-of-year test performances (academic performance).

Identify the type of graph shown in Figure 2 and explain why this is an appropriate graph to use for the data collected.

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1c2 marks

Explain why it would not be appropriate for the researchers to conclude that increased recreational screen time reduces academic performance.

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22 marks

A psychologist reads a review of a meta-analysis confirming the relationship between recreational screen time and academic performance.

What is meant by the term meta-analysis?

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32 marks

A researcher investigated whether there was a correlation between the number of hours slept and how well rested the students felt.

The researcher randomly selected 18 participants from first-year students at the university.

On the day of the study, each student participant was asked, ‘How many hours did you sleep last night?’ They then had to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how well rested they felt.

The researcher hypothesised that there would be a positive correlation between the two co-variables.

Outline one reason why it was appropriate to conduct a correlation rather than an experiment in this case.

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41 mark

A researcher studying depression wanted to see whether or not there was a relationship between level of self-esteem and negative schema score. She constructed two questionnaires and asked ten people who had been diagnosed with depression to complete them.

One questionnaire measured the participant’s level of self-esteem. A low score (out of 50) indicated low self-esteem.

The other questionnaire measured whether the participant showed evidence of negative schema. A low score (out of 50) indicated evidence of negative schema. The two sets of results for each participant are shown in the table below.

Table 1 Self-esteem score and negative schema score for each patient

Table showing scores for 10 participants: Self-esteem scores range from 8 to 22, and negative schema scores range from 11 to 19 for different participants.

Estimate the correlation coefficient most likely to result from analysis of the data in Table 1.

The correlation coefficient would be approximately:

  • +0.95

  • +0.70

  • +0.30

  • +0.15

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51 mark

The calculated value of r for a Pearson’s test was +0.42.

Which one of the following scattergrams best represents a correlation coefficient of +0.42?

  • Scatter plot labeled 'A' with data points ranging from 1 to 10 on the x-axis and 2 to 9 on the y-axis. A downward trend line is shown.
  • Scatter plot labeled "B" with data points between 1 and 9 on both axes. Points show a positive trend, closely aligned with a diagonal line from bottom left to top right.
  • Scatter plot chart labeled "C" with a line of best fit showing data points scattered around a line from the bottom-left to the top-right, with axes from 1 to 10.
  • Scatter plot labeled "D" with data points and a downward sloping line. X-axis ranges from 1 to 10, and Y-axis ranges from 1 to 10.

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14 marks

Your psychology teacher has read about the beneficial effects of exercise. She asks you to design a study to see if there is a correlation between time spent swimming and anxiety levels in A-level psychology students.

Your teacher tells you not to use self-report to measure anxiety levels and tells you to use a different way of measuring anxiety.

Suggest how you could measure the co-variables, time spent swimming and anxiety levels, for your study

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15 marks

Your psychology teacher has read about the beneficial effects of exercise. She asks you to design a study to see if there is a correlation between time spent swimming and anxiety levels in A-level psychology students.

Suggest an appropriate statistical test that could be used to analyse the data in your study and explain two reasons for your choice in the context of your study.

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