In: Statistics and Probability
1. Assume that you are conducting an experiment in human performance. You have two groups: experimental (the group that receives the treatment) and control (the group that does not receive the treatment). Briefly describe your experiment, your research hypothesis, and your null hypothesis.
2. Assume that you are conducting an experiment in human performance. You have two groups: experimental (the group that receives the treatment) and control (the group that does not receive the treatment). What steps would you take to make a decision about the effectiveness of your experimental intervention?
1. An experiment that is conducting human performance would see the relationship between two variables that are independent variable (any desired stimulus that is manipulated for example puzzle test) and dependent variable (the intensity or degree of performance, it could be cognitive or behavioral). However, in an experiment, experimenter takes two groups: experimental (one that receives the treatment) and control (one that does not receive the treatment). Results of both groups would then be compared to interpret the finding. Research hypothesis or alternate hypothesis is a statement that defines the relationship between two variables, for example, there is a difference between difficulty level of puzzle game and level of cognitive performance. A null hypothesis is a statement that depicts no relationship between two variable, for example, there is no difference between higher difficulty in puzzle test and a high level of cognitive performance.
2. The experimental group receives an intervention in an experiment to measure the effect of the change on performance or behavior (dependent variable). In order to establish the effectiveness of the experimental intervention, it is necessary to control to situation or occurrence of a confounding variable. This third variable affects the dependent and independent variable which in turns affect the effectiveness of the experiment and manipulates the results.