Question

At the Olympic level of competition, even the smallest factors can make the difference between winning and losing. For example, Pelton (1983) has shown that Olympic marksmen shoot much better if they fire between heartbeats, rather than squeezing the trigger during a heartbeat. The small vibration caused by a heartbeat seems to be sufficient to affect the marksman’s aim. The following hypothetical data demonstrate this phenomenon. A sample of Olympic marksmen fires a series of rounds while a researcher records heartbeats. For each marksman, a score is recorded for shots fired during heartbeats and for shots fired between heartbeats. Do these data indicate a significant difference? Two-tailed test with α = .05.

Participants: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, During heartbeats: 93, 90, 95, 92, 95, 91, 92, 93 Between Heartbeats: 98, 94, 96, 91, 97, 97, 95, 97

Answer 1

Ans.

Obs.	During Heartbeats	Between Heartbeats	d = During -Between	d2
A	93	98	-5	25
B	90	94	-4	16
C	95	96	-1	1
D	92	91	1	1
E	95	97	-2	4
F	91	97	-6	36
G	92	95	-3	9
H	93	97	-4	16
SUM =			-24	108