Tuesday 9-11 (group 2), Tuesday 11-1 (group 3) Tom Mitchell t.mitchell@abdn.ac.

uk room T15

 MCQs 7.2 & 7.3

What is a t-test actually comparing?? Data-analysis in groups

 Is there a genuine difference between our 2 group means?

In other words: is the difference between our 2 group

means statistically significant?

Mean X Mean Y? Need to take Overall Variability in the data into account

 Group As mean IQ: 100

Group Bs mean IQ: 105
Scenario 1

Is this 5-point difference statistically significant?

range of scores for Group A = 99-101, range for Group B = 104-106. 5-point difference = genuine difference
Scenario 2

range of scores for Group A = 65-170, range for Group B = 67-171. 5-point difference = no genuine difference T-test: Is the difference between groups meaningful relative to the total variability?

T-value =

Group1 Group2 SE( Group1 Group2 )

=
Group1 Group2 varianceGroup1 N Group1 varianceGroup2 N Group2

 In groups: calculate your observed t-value from your own

group data (some of you may find a significant difference some of you may not). Produce a bar graph which clearly illustrates the data. (remember use full scale, error bars and correct labelling of x and y axis. FIGURE reference should tell the reader what measure of central tendency has been used (e.g. mean), and what is shown by the error bars (st.error or st deviation).
Did you find a significant difference between your group means? In other words: did you find a significant effect of Stimulus Type?

Standard deviation: distribution of scores in your sample

4 friends are on a budget night out. A = 2 drinks, B = 3 drinks, C = 3 drinks, D = 4 drinks Mean: 12/4 = 3 drinks, SD: 0.4

Standard error: indicates how the sample mean varies if you take many samples across the population
How likely is it, across the country, to find a group of 4 people who have an average of 3 drinks?

Significant PSE

20 Number of items remembered

18
16 14 12 10

8
6 4 2 0 words group

pictures

No Sig diff between groups 20 Number of items remembered

18
16 14 12 10

8
6 4 2 0 words group

pictures

Opposite effect words are better remembered. 20 Number of items remembered

18
16 14 12 10

8
6 4 2 0 words group pictures

 Using the worksheet I have lovingly prepared available

on myAberdeen work in pairs at computer to conduct your t test and produce a graph of your group data (therefore do not try to work with someone from a different research groupthis wont work very well) You will therefore have produced the content of your results section in class, you will need to structure this into your report.

 Back into your research group to discuss what your data shows.

Think about factors which may have contributed to a significant effect (or indeed an absence of any effect in your data)

Important factors:
Speed of presentation; words encoded instantly, pictures require interpretation

Ambiguity of picture; what is it???

Only concreteness controlled for (syllables, letters, frequency,
imagery)

Participants aware of hypothesis; trying to visualise words? Was the filler task demanding enough?

 Continue writing up Introduction, methods, results Next weeks class will focus on discussion: Think about

reasons why you did/did not find significant effects in your groups and come prepared to discuss these in class. Think about improvements to the methodology, try to move away from sample population as an issue (I am afraid most research in Psychology is conducted with undergraduate populations).-how could you improve the experimental setup to look deeper into the effect?
Next week: GPP 1