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CoachMagpie2117
A.) For the first portion of the written assignment, you should…

A.) For the first portion of the written assignment, you should assess the statements stated using two of the 6 scientific thinking concepts listed below:

 

1) Ruling out rival hypotheses – Results that are compatible with many hypotheses require extra research to determine which hypothesis is best supported.

2) Correlation does not imply causation – A relationship between two things does not suggest a cause and effect relationship.

3) Falsifiability – Claims must be able to be refuted. In other words, we should be able to devise a method for determining whether or not a claim is true.

4) Replicability – The findings must be repeatable using the same methods.

5) Extraordinary claims – For the most part, science is a cumulative process in which new claims represent little advancements over earlier ones.

6) Parsimony (also known as Occam’s razor) – If two hypotheses explain the same phenomenon equally well, choose the simpler one.
 

B.) Analyze the research description and the assertions it makes in regard to two different parts of the research methodologies that are not specified below for the second half of the written assignment:
 

1.) Random selection – refers to whether or not every member in the population has an equal probability of being chosen to participate.
2.) Reliability – refers to the uniformity of measurement
3.) Validity – refers to the extent to which the measure being used actually measures the
thing it is supposed to.
4.) Random assignment – means that participants are randomly assigned to experimental
or control group
5.) Confounding variable – refers to any variable that differs between experimental and
control group other than the independent variable
6.) Experimenter expectancy effect – occurs when researchers unintentionally bias the study’s outcome.
7.) Demand features –  are indicators that participants may pick up on that will allow them to guess the topic of the study.
8.) Sampling bias – refers to whether the sample is representative of the population being studied. 
 

*Employ two research methodology aspects to the research description. When you find weaknesses in the research methodology, include a thorough explanation of the flaw in the study description, as well as what needs to be done to remedy the research methodology.

 

Topic to analyze: “New study shows that listening to nature sounds can boost your intelligence”
 

We are all aware of the physical and mental health benefits of taking a walk in nature. Past research has shown that simply listening to nature sounds might help people focus on tough activities. Dr. Uma Kudarata, a psychology researcher at Laurentian University’s Department of Psychology, has now completed a study of university students proving that listening to nature sounds can make us wiser and enhance brain function by 100%. 
The study’s control group consisted of forty students from the English department. The experimental group in the study consisted of forty students from the Mathematics department. In terms of gender distribution, average age, and years of schooling, the two groups were nearly identical.

All participants took the identical IQ test, which required them to memorise a series of number sequences. Each sequence consisted of five numbers, such as 37682, 42156, and so on. The sequences were shown to the participants one at a time for 3 seconds on a screen in front of them. 
All individuals’ brains were scanned using fMRI as they learned the numerical sequences. 
The control group remembered the list while remaining silent. The experimental group listened to a recording of nature sounds such as birds singing and the sound of a soothing waterfall while memorising the list.

Following that, subjects were removed from the fMRI scanner and taken to a different room. Students have 5 minutes to remember and write down as many numerical sequences as possible. 
The experimental group successfully remembered 16 sequences on average, but the control group only remembered 7. The difference in average scores between the groups was statistically significant (p < .05).  Both groups showed activity in the frontal lobe, which is known to be engaged during memory activities, according to the brain scans. Both groups showed activity in the occipital lobe, which was most likely caused by the visual information (number sequences) displayed on the screen. Yet, as demonstrated below, the experimental group also showed an approximately 100% increase in temporal lobe activity. As a result, when pupils were forced to listen to nature sounds, their brains became 100% more active!