Run For Your Life

2 Pages 563 Words

Run for Your Life

In this chapter, the experiments set out to test whether physical fitness, life stress, and health are directly related to each other. To test this, the researcher used correlational studies. Correlational research is an investigation of the relationships between two variables. The data found is reported as a correlation coefficient, which is measured on a scale from -1.00 to 1.00. The strongest relationship is negatively or positively as close to 1.00 as possible. The weakest relationship is positively or negatively as close to 0 as possible. A correlation with a negative value shows an inverse relationship while a positive value shows a relationship where variables fluctuate together. A strong relationship is important because it allows a researcher to make a quite accurate prediction of the value of one variable if they know the other value. However, a strong relationship does not necessarily mean that there is a causal link between the variables.
The participants involved in the experiment were a group of introductory psychology students who were followed for a college academic year. The group numbered 110 and was composed of 37 males and 73 females. Ninety of these participants completed the full year. The drop-outs were compared with the students who completed the program, no considerable difference between the two groups was found. A number of measures both subjective and objective were taken over the course of the year. Objective measures included a record of appointments at the health center, heart-rate while resting, and physical fitness test on an ergocycle. Subjective tests were physical activity questionnaires, participant reports of medical conditions, and a survey to measure unpleasant life experiences.
When the probability of an event occurring by chance was greater then 5 percent, the statistic is considered insignificant. The findings which were found to be statistically signi...