PSYCHOLOGY

PROJECT
Introduction
Research Question: Is the breaking point uniform over different tasks and is it dependent on IQ ?
In human psychology, the breaking point is a moment of stress in which a person breaks down or a situation
becomes critical. The intensity of environmental stress necessary to bring this about varies from individual to
individual.
An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from one of several standardized tests designed to assess
human intelligence. An IQ of 90-95 is considered below average , an IQ of 100-115 is considered average and
an IQ of 120 and above is considered above average.
Breaking points are very useful in crime interrogations. When a person is brutally interrogated there comes a
point in time when he breaks down. A person usually confesses at his/her beak point. It also has an important
management application. We come across situations where we are required to wait for long for say a meeting or
where we need to think of a creative solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem. In both we are required to
have a high breaking point.

The project falls under the topic of emotions as per our course structure.

Method
Participants
Twenty students (17-20-year-olds) will be used as participants.
They were informed that their identity would be confidential and an incentive was used so that the participants
will be motivated to be a part of the experiment.
Participants will be asked to leave all valuables and electronics (including watches) and even any eatables when
they sign the consent form.
The duration of the experiment will not be provided to them.

Design
This is a 2(types of tasks) X 3(IQ range of participants) between-subjects factorial design, because our
experiment comprises of two independent variables. The tasks have two levels- social and scholastic tasks and
the and IQ has 3 levels- between 90-95, 100-115 and 120 and above. The dependent measure is the time the
participants take to reach their breaking point and give up. The experiment is both questionnaire based- the IQ
test, and experiment based- the tasks.

Materials
The material requirements for the first task are a sheet of paper containing an unsolvable puzzle and a pen. An
empty room without distractions is preferred. Only a chair and a table are necessary.
An empty room with plain white walls has to be used for the experiment where the subject has to wait in a
room.
The room will just have one comfortable couch for the participants to sit on.
An individual who is not aware of the functioning/purpose of the experiment will be required to interact with
the participants (Double blind approach) to avoid any potential influence of the confounding variable. The
participants will not be allowed to carry any objects like watches, cell phones, books etc. to avoid any
distraction.

Procedure
A sample population is first given a standardized IQ test. Random people are then selected from the population
and from each IQ bracket to take part in the experiment. Care is taken that equal number of males and females
are taken in each category.
Participants undergo the experiment individually with a time gap of three days between the tasks.
Task 1 : Participants are asked to enter the room, without any prior knowledge of what task they will be
performing. The room is equipped to avoid any distractions. On entering the room, they are provided a puzzle.
They are then allowed to solve it The timer duration from when the participants start to attempt the puzzle till
they finally get frustrated and give up is measured. The second task is then performed on the set of people after
a few days.
Task 2: Participants are asked to wait in the room till further instructions are given. An individual, who has no
prior knowledge of the experiment, comes to the room every fifteen minutes and first apologizes for the delay
and then informs the participants that the experiment will begin shortly. The participants are made to wait till
they get impatient and demand to be let out. The time duration from when the participants enter the room till
they reach their breaking point is measured.
After the experiment is done, the participants are thanked for being a part of the experiment.

Expected Results
We expect participants with higher IQ to have comparatively low breaking points in social situations as well as
in scholastic situations. This can be attributed to them having a much higher mental faculty, and therefore they
are unable to be patient. However people with average IQs have relatively higher breaking point. People with
average IQs keep trying the puzzle as they do not deduce the fact that it is unsolvable. They also are more
patient.

Discussions
The results of this study are stated and evaluated in light of the initial hypothesis.
Every experiment is bound to have limitations. Errors might occur due to these limitations and will set the
bounds of this experiment.
1. The participants are all college going students from the same institution and the age group is limited to
the range of seventeen to twenty.
2. Some people might find out that the puzzle is unsolvable or they might be familiar with puzzles of these
kinds thus it might lead to misleading results.
 3. Some people might have an innate interest in puzzle solving, and hence might end up spending more time
on the puzzle task than others.
4. Individuals might have prior engagements and hence be more keen to leave the waiting room.

Appendix
Puzzle for task 1: The participants are required to draw this figure on a piece of paper without lifting the pen or
going over any part of the line twice.