The question
Name: ______________________ Date: ____________ Does the presence of others help or hurt performance? (7 points)
Study
Source 1: Source 1: Typing in front of an audience
Introduction
Researchers asked whether being watched changes performance differently on an easy and a hard task.
Participants
96 university students (ages 18 to 24) in Ontario, Canada, all experienced typists, volunteered and gave informed consent.
Method
Students were randomly assigned to type alone or with two observers watching from behind. Each student typed two passages: an easy one in English and a hard one with English words written backward. The researchers counted correct words per minute.
Results
On the easy passage, students who were watched typed 58 correct words per minute, compared with 52 alone. On the hard passage, students who were watched typed 14 correct words per minute, compared with 19 alone.
Invented study for practice.
Study
Source 2: Source 2: Shouting alone or in a group
Introduction
Researchers asked whether people put in less effort when their effort is combined with others' and cannot be measured separately.
Participants
60 high school students (ages 15 to 17) in Florida took part with a parent's consent and their own assent.
Method
Wearing headphones that played noise, each student was asked to shout as loudly as possible. Students did this alone, and also in groups of 6 where they were told only the group's total volume would be recorded. In fact, a separate microphone measured each student's own volume in both conditions. Afterward, students were told about the hidden microphones and why they were needed.
Results
Students shouted at a mean of 88 decibels alone and 81 decibels in the groups of 6. Ten of the students, in a separate session, were told their own volume would be posted on a screen even in the group; their mean volume in the group was 87 decibels.
Invented study for practice.
Study
Source 3: Source 3: Runners with and without a pacer
Introduction
Researchers asked whether experienced runners run faster when another runner is beside them.
Participants
40 members of running clubs in Colorado (ages 25 to 45; 22 women and 18 men), each with at least 3 years of training, gave informed consent.
Method
Each runner ran 1 mile on a track twice, a week apart, in a random order: once alone and once with another club member running alongside at the same pace. A stopwatch recorded each time.
Results
The mean time was 7 minutes 12 seconds when running alone and 6 minutes 58 seconds when running with another runner, 14 seconds faster. 31 of the 40 runners were faster with a partner.
Invented study for practice.
| Condition | Mean time | Runners faster in this condition |
|---|---|---|
| Alone | 7 min 12 s | 9 of 40 |
| With a partner | 6 min 58 s | 31 of 40 |
(A) Propose a specific and defensible claim based on at least one of the provided sources that responds to the question: Does the presence of others help or hurt performance? [1 point]
(B(i)) Support your claim using at least one piece of specific and relevant evidence from one of the sources. [1 point]
(B(ii)) Explain how the evidence from B(i) supports your claim using a psychological perspective, theory, concept or research finding learned in AP® Psychology. [2 points]
(C(i)) Support your claim using a different piece of specific and relevant evidence from another source. [1 point]
(C(ii)) Explain how the evidence from C(i) supports your claim using a different psychological perspective, theory, concept or research finding learned in AP® Psychology. [2 points]