Studies of Interference in Serial Verbal Reactions, Essay Example

The Interactive Stroop Experiment from Washington University was taken and assessed.  The four questions with regards to experimental hypothesis, null hypothesis, research design, application of control and experimental groups were reviewed.  In addition, the last question which reviewed the effects of eating breakfast with regards to caloric intake was examined with regards to formulation of an alternate and null hypothesis. The perspectives of Babbie (2010), Stroop (1935 and Washington University (2015) were accessed.

Interactive Stroop Experiment

The times for the completion of the Interactive Stroop Experiment at Washington University were reviewed.  The time that was required for the completion of the first test was 24.557 seconds.  The time required for the completion of the second test was 33.213 seconds.  It took much less time to complete the first examination due to the lack of conflict.  The second test took a longer amount of time to complete (Washington University, 2015).

The longer completion time for the second test was attributed to the conflict in the cerebral cortex that required resolution with regards to the incongruence of the colors and the inscribed words. In 1935, John Ridley Stroop recognized this outcome and documented the effect in his thesis.  The majority of the people will acknowledge the definition of the word prior to determining the color.  In order to categorize the color precisely, the two functions enter into completion with regards to the conclusive decision making function.  The cerebral cortex is required to deter the more robust process of word recognition in order to facilitate that the color acknowledgement dominates in the conclusive response (Stroop, 1935).

A researcher is interested in testing whether 30 min of free play before a math test improves 3rd graders performance.  Is a simple experiment appropriate to test this? What should the researcher’s experimental hypothesis be? What should her null hypothesis be?

The experimental hypothesis should be that half an hour of recreational play enhances the production of third graders on a mathematics examination.  The null hypothesis would be that half an hour of recreational play does not enhance the production of third graders on a mathematics examination (Babbie, 2010).   

A researcher observes that people who live in rural areas tend to hold more conservative political views that people who live in cities.  What research design should this researcher use to test whether his observation is accurate?

The research design that the experimenter should use in order to collect the data should be a qualitative research design employing the use of closed ended questions on a questionnaire.  The questionnaire should be distributed to the urban residents and the rural residents with regards to their political perspectives.  Subsequent to a comparison of the outcomes of the questionnaire, the researcher may formulate the observation with precision (Babbie, 2010).

A researcher is interested in what dosage of drug is best for people experiencing chronic pain.  He sets up a simple experiment comparing a moderately high dosage of the drug to a control group. Will this design answer his question? Why or why not?

The researcher must also established an experimental group.  In the experimental group, a placebo may be administered.  The members of the control group and the experimental group must be compared in order to answer the question.  Considering the experiment in its present form, the design will not provide the researcher with the answers to his inquiries (Babbie, 2010).

A researcher is interested in determining whether eating breakfast affects the number of calories people intake at lunch.  Can this researcher set up a simple experiment to test this? What would be her experimental hypothesis? What would the null hypothesis be?

The experiment required a control group and an experimental group.  The control group may eat breakfast.  The experimental group would not eat breakfast.  The outcomes of the two groups with regards to caloric intake during lunch would be compared.  The alternate hypothesis would be eating breakfast influence the quantity of calories ingested during lunch.  The null hypothesis would be eating breakfast does not influence the quantity of calories ingested during lunch (Babbie, 2010).

References

Babbie, E. (2011). The basics of social research. Belmont, CA, Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18: 643- 662.

Washington University (2015). Interactive Stroop Experiment. Washington University.