You should present a cogent argument based on your critical analysis of the questions posed, using appropriate psychological ter

Question

3 months ago

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You should present a cogent argument based on your critical analysis of the questions posed, using appropriate psychological ter

minology. It is not enough to answer a question by merely listing facts.
Dr. Aguilera conducts psychological research that examines factors associated with college student academic performance. She administered a survey to 127 participants from her university’s student subject pool. In the survey, she asked students to report their current college grade point average (GPA). Dr. Aguilera also asked questions about sleeping, eating habits, and social media use.
In addition, she asked ten questions that assessed anxiety. Participants indicated their responses to each anxiety item on a 5-point scale, where 1 indicated no anxiety and 5 indicated extreme anxiety. Dr. Aguilera summed each participant’s answers to these 10 items to form one anxiety score.
Dr. Aguilera analyzed the data and found that the correlation between anxiety and academic performance was −.64
(results significant) and that the relationship between hours sleeping per night and academic performance was a correlation of 0.

Part A
Based on these data, state the most appropriate conclusions Dr. Aguilera could make about the relationships between the following.
→Anxiety and academic performance
→Hours sleeping per night and academic performance

Part B
Explain how each of the following may contribute to the interpretation of Dr. Aguilera’s findings.
→Operational definition
→Cohort effect

Advanced Placement (AP)

1 answer:

kotykmax [209] · Answer 1 · 2026-02-16T18:00:15+03:00

Answer Part A:

1. There is a notable inverse correlation between anxiety and academic achievement, which can be expressed as:

a. Individuals with lower anxiety scores tend to have higher current GPAs, or;

b. Those with lower GPAs tend to have higher anxiety levels.

Explanation:

The correlation coefficient of -0.64 indicates a negative association between anxiety and academic performance. The negative sign indicates direction, and the p-value (p < .01 or p < .05) confirms the significance of the relationship.

Remember, the magnitude (0.64) shows the strength—moderate to strong depending on the reference—but it doesn't prove causality.

Note that correlation does not imply causation; thus, either (a) or (b) could be valid interpretations. It's best to neutrally state that a negative relationship exists between the two variables.

2. No association is observed between sleep duration per night and academic success.

Explanation:

A correlation of 0.00 suggests no relationship. Values near zero indicate the variables are likely unrelated.

Answer Part B:

1. Operational definitions help interpret findings by addressing whether:

(1) the measurements align with the research goals, and

(2) any limitations stem from how variables were defined or measured.

Explanation:

Although the study does not explicitly state operational definitions, they can be inferred:

Academic performance is operationalized as the participant's current GPA.

Anxiety is calculated as the sum of responses on a 10-item anxiety scale.

Interpretation usually occurs in the discussion section after results are presented. Evaluating operational definitions reveals whether appropriate, unbiased tools were used; for example, the 5-point anxiety scale might introduce central tendency bias.

2. Cohort effects could influence the results by introducing bias unrelated to the variables studied. Changes in anxiety or GPA might instead be linked to age-related factors like social media usage.

Explanation:

Cohort effects are influences shared by participants of a certain age group that can skew results if uncontrolled. Since Dr. Aguilera's sample consists solely of university students, this bias is a risk.

Though social media use was measured, it wasn't controlled for, so it may moderate anxiety levels, which in turn affect GPA.