Perseverance data from one control-group participant were
eliminated because she had to leave the session early. Concentration data
from another control-group participant were dropped because he did not
complete the test correctly. Three manipulation-check questions indicated
that each participant correctly perceived his or her deprivation condition
and had followed the rules for it. The average concentration score was
77.78 (SD = 14.21), which was very good considering that anything over
50 percent is labeled “good” or “above average.” The average time spent
on the puzzle was 24.00 minutes (SD = 10.16), with a maximum of 40
minutes allowed.
We predicted that participants in the 24-hour deprivation group
would perform worse on the concentration test and the perseverance task
than those in the 12-hour group, who in turn would perform worse than
those in the control group. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
showed no significant effect of deprivation condition on concentration,
F(2,46) = 1.06, p = .36 (see Figure 1). Another one-way ANOVA indicated
Figure 1.
No deprivation 12-hour deprivation 24-hour deprivation
Deprivation Condition
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80
70
60
50
M ea
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co re
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c on
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The writers summarize
their findings, including problems
encountered.
“See Figure 1” sends
readers to a figure (graph,
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All figures and
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Running on Empty 8
a significant effect of deprivation condition on perseverance time,
F(2,47) = 7.41, p < .05. Post-hoc Tukey tests indicated that the 12-hour
deprivation group (M = 17.79, SD = 7.84) spent significantly less time
on the perseverance task than either the control group (M = 26.80, SD =
6.20) or the 24-hour group (M = 28.75, SD = 12.11), with no significant
difference between the latter two groups (see Figure 2). No significant
effect was found for gender either generally or with specific deprivation
conditions, Fs < 1.00. Unexpectedly, food deprivation had no significant
effect on concentration scores. Overall, we found support for our
hypothesis that 12 hours of food deprivation would significantly impair
perseverance when compared to no deprivation. Unexpectedly, 24 hours
of food deprivation did not significantly affect perseverance relative to the
control group. Also unexpectedly, food deprivation did not significantly
affect concentration scores.
Discussion
