The following AAQ is based on the topic, ‘The Nervous System,’ specifically, the sub-topic of ‘Sympathetic Nervous System and the Stress Response’ from the AP Psychology Curriculum.
Read the questions and the stimulus that follows carefully, then attempt writing answers on your own. Once you’re done, check the answer key with explanation given after the stimulus. Happy learning!
Instructions
Using the source provided, respond to all parts of the question.1. Your response to the question should be provided in six parts: A, B, C, D, E, and F. Write the response to each part of the question in complete sentences. Use appropriate psychological terminology in your response.
A. Identify the research method used in the study.
B. What is the operational definition of “motor performance” in this study?
C. Based on the data in the graph, describe the difference in heart rate between the High-Pressure and Low-Pressure groups.
D. Identify at least one ethical guideline applied by the researchers.
E. Explain the extent to which the research findings may or may not be generalizable using specific and relevant evidence from the study.
F. Explain how the finding for motor errors connects to the researchers’ original hypothesis regarding the nervous system.
Introduction
Researchers aimed to investigate how a high-pressure situation influences the autonomic nervous system and fine motor control. The prediction was that performing a skilled task under social evaluation pressure would lead to increased sympathetic nervous system activation and a higher rate of motor errors compared to performing the same task in a relaxed, private setting.
Participants
The researchers recruited 120 participants from a pool of university students and community members. All participants were pre-screened to be right-handed and have normal or corrected-to-normal vision. They were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: the High-Pressure condition or the Low-Pressure condition. The final sample consisted of individuals ranging in age from 18 to 35 years (M = 23.1, SD = 4.3). The researchers provided detailed demographic information for the final sample, which is presented in the table below.
Method
The study utilized two conditions: High-Pressure and Low-Pressure. In the High-Pressure condition, participants were told they were competing for a monetary prize and that their performance was being recorded and evaluated by a panel of experts. In the Low-Pressure condition, participants were told the study was about equipment calibration and they should simply relax and try the task alone.
Motor performance was measured by counting the number of times a participant’s hand trembled enough to break contact with a stable metal plate while guiding a small metal loop along a curving wire path (a classic steady-hand task). Physiological arousal was also assessed as the average number of heartbeats per minute (BPM) recorded by a heart rate monitor during the task.
Each participant completed a single five-minute trial of the motor task after hearing the context-specific instructions. The setting was kept at a constant temperature to prevent external factors from influencing physiological readings. All equipment was standardized and tested for calibration before each session to ensure consistency in data collection.
Results
The data obtained from the study are displayed in the graph below.
The mean heart rate for the High-Pressure group was 82 BPM, which was a full 10 BPM higher than the Low-Pressure group’s mean of 72 BPM.
Similarly, the motor error data showed a dramatic effect, with the High-Pressure group making over twice as many errors on average (18.5) as the Low-Pressure group (8.2).
Beilock, S. L., & Carr, T. H. (2001). On the fragility of skilled performance: What governs choking under pressure? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130(4), 701–725. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.130.4.701
(Note: The provided citation is for a seminal real-world study on perceptual expertise. The created source text is a fictionalized and condensed version inspired by the paradigms and findings of this and related studies in the field.)
Answer Key
| Answer | Explanation |
| A. Identify the research method used in the study. Answer: The research method used is an experiment. | This is an experiment because the researchers manipulated the independent variable (the pressure level by giving different instructions) and randomly assigned participants to the High-Pressure or Low-Pressure conditions to see the effect on heart rate and motor errors. |
| B. What is the operational definition of “motor performance” in this study? Answer: Motor performance was operationally defined as the number of times a participant’s hand trembled enough to break contact with a stable metal plate while guiding a metal loop along a wire | In this specific steady-hand task, the researchers couldn’t just measure performance vaguely. They had to define it as a countable behavior: the number of times contact with the plate was broken. |
| C. Based on the data in the graph, describe the difference in heart rate between the High-Pressure and Low-Pressure groups. Answer: The heart rate of the High-Pressure group (82 BPM) was 10 BPM higher than the heart rate of the Low-Pressure group (72 BPM). | The graph’s data shows that the mean heart rate for the group told they were being evaluated by experts was significantly higher than the group told the study was just about equipment calibration. |
| D. Identify at least one ethical guideline applied by the researchers. Answer: The researchers debriefed all participants after the study, explaining the true purpose and the use of deception, and gave them the option to withdraw their data. | Since the researchers used deception (e.g., telling the Low-Pressure group it was an equipment calibration study), they ethically had to explain the true hypothesis afterward in a debriefing and allow participants to remove their data. |
| E. Explain the extent to which the research findings may or may not be generalizable using specific and relevant evidence from the study. Answer: The findings have low generalizability to real-world high-pressure situations because the sample was limited to right-handed 18-35 year olds and the task was an artificial laboratory activity. | The study’s participants were all right-handed and from a limited age range (18-35), so we can’t be sure if the same results would happen for left-handed people or older adults. The artificial “metal loop” task also may not reflect pressure in a real sport or speech. |
| F. Explain how the finding for motor errors connects to the researchers’ original hypothesis regarding the nervous system. Answer: The hypothesis was that high pressure would increase sympathetic nervous system activation (shown by higher heart rate) and cause more motor errors. The finding that the High-Pressure group made over twice as many errors (18.5 vs. 8.2) directly supports this, associating nervous system arousal to worsened motor control. | The original hypothesis predicted that the “pressure” would trigger the nervous system, leading to more mistakes. The result—that the high-pressure group made more than double the errors—is the direct evidence that confirms this nervous system link to “choking under pressure.” |
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