Discussion

As this experiments tests on a human's psychology and how the mind works, it plays a hug impact on the society today. These results clearly show us that something as little and unimportant as colours could change our choices and our behaviour.

Teenage women were the age group and gender tested and this plays a major impact on the society today. Pop culture and advertising lures people in to buy their products with one major way. COLOUR. The results from my experiment will be exactly the same in real life. Colour preferences will influence their choices and many young women are drawn in by the bright colours and their brain overlooks the colour preferences which changes their behaviour and choices from logic to favouritism. Marketing knows that this is one of the best way to interest people that are walking along the city streets.

Photos and Videos

The M&Ms used for the experiment

Grab 20 M&Ms from the bowl

Place in zip-lock bag after choosing

Bibliography

What's independent and dependent variables? 22/8/13, 7:03 pm
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110522093325AA3DscO

Independent and dependent variable examples, 22/8/13, 7:05 pm
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples/independent-and-dependent-variable-examples.html

What is control variable? 22/8/13, 7:36 pm
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/control-variable.html

Reliability, 21/8/13, 6:58 pm
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/page.cfm?pageid=1386 

What is the difference between reliability and validity in psychology research? 21/8/13, 7:06 pm

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006032701828

Do preferences bias our choices? 18/8/13, 4:36 pm
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/HumBeh_p019.shtml#summary

Passive Voice, 21/8/13, 7:18 pm
http://grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/pasvoiceterm.htm

Science Fair Project Guide 18/8/13, 5:49
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_guide_index.shtml

Reflection

Some difficulties and problems i faced when conducting the experiment was that it very hard to tabulate the results. Normalizing the results I had was difficult as it was hard to convert the data into percentages and it didn't add up. This was overcome by creating a different way of tabulating and graphing the data by using average percentages of the data.

Another difficulty was when conducting the experiment, factors had altered the results which caused some of the results to be inaccurate. "Blue M&Ms are bad for you" made some of the participants not choose blue M&Ms at all and that affected the results. This was overcome by assuming there was no blue for those participants and asking them for a different favourite colour.

Improvements I could have done with this experiment was that I could have used more time to execute this experiment and to test more people to create more reliability. I could have used more accurate data creating a graph with averaged data scores.

Conclusion

The M&Ms chosen were higher where the participants chose their favourite colour. The percentage levels were higher on the favourite colour M&Ms and lower on the other colours. The participant's choice of M&Ms were obviously much higher on their favourite colour M&Ms and their bias choices towards their colour preferences has been drawn from the graph. The trend increases where the colours match showing more numbers on favourite colours but decreases when it is not the participant's favoured colour.

The experiment has proven that colour preferences bias people's choices and that it clearly affects the hand-eye coordination which affects our movement and behaviour in everyday life.

Results

Results Table 1:

Results Table 2:

Reliability

Reliability is when an experiment is performed and the results are the same/similar on repeated number of tests.

The reliability of this experiment is fairly accurate as majority of people tend to become bias towards their preferenced colours. Therefore, over a number of trials with different participants, even if the experiment was repeated numerous times, the overall results will be very consistent.
Other experiments that may have been performed before have shown similar results. Similar tests such as preferring to different pets by their colours and also assuming the flavours of different coloured foods are very similar tests which explore the human mind and how preferences bias our choices. The results in all of these replicates produced an extremely similar set of data to my experiment.

Validity

Validity is whether the experiment you are testing is true or not and if it actually measures what you are trying to measure.

The validity of this experiment is high as it does measure participant's favour towards their specific colours and results will show if they had chose more of their favourite colour than others or not. It is fairly accurate and is very successful to test people bias towards their favourite colour. This was ensured by the colour preferences of each person and even though everyone had different favourite colours, majority of the participants all chose more M&Ms of their favourite colour than others.
The controlled variables helped achieve this as a more accurate test was created by using the same age group teenage girls so that all test could be as valid as possible. Another variable that ensured validity was the same amount of M&Ms in the bowl of each colour. This was controlled by maintaining and replacing the colours which had been picked to ensure an equal possibility of all colours getting picked. This test has been proven to be valid as it cannot be valid if it isn't reliable.
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Variables

The independent variable is the variable which the experimenter controls. This variable is the cause of the experiment which will test the effect it causes.
The independent variable will be the choice of colour. The participant's favourite colour will be the cause of the experiment, as results will be formed due to which coloured M&Ms they will pick.

The dependent variable is the value that depends on the independent variable. It is the effect of the experiment and this is the results of the experiment.
The dependent variable is the chosen M&Ms by the participants as it is the effect of the participant's favourite colour. It is dependent on the independent variable (choice of colour) and therefore may change due to participant's different colour preferences.

Controlled variables are variables which are kept the same/constant in order to show the relationship between the independent and dependent variable.
The controlled variable in the experiment was the number of M&Ms of each colour in the bowl which the participants took from. I also kept the age group and gender the same so that all participants were as equal as possible to ensure more accuracy in results.

Method

1. The M&M's were equally portioned into the large bowl.
2. The first participant was asked to quickly pick out 20 M&M's, using a two-finger pinch and placing it into a zip-lock bag.
3. The first participant was then asked their favourite colour which they wrote on their zip-lock bag.
4. The M&M's was replaced by the same-colored M&M's that the participant took from the bowl (If 3 red and 5 brown M&M's, replenish the bowl with 3 red and 5 brown M&M's, not from the participant's bag).
5. The test was repeated multiple times whilst the bowl was replenished with the same-colored M&M's as each participant removed after every trial.
6. The bags were sorted and the M&M was tallied into their favourite colour groups. The tallying was finished and the results were recorded in a data table.
7. The data was normalized by calculating percentages of each color picked for each "Favorite Color" category. The total number of M&Ms chosen for each "favorite color" was added. The percentages was calculated in a new data table. The number was divided by the number of M&M's chosen for a single color by the total number of M&M's chosen.The answer was  then multiplied by 100.
8. A graph called a histogram was made for each "Favorite Color" M&M. A scale of percentages from zero to 100% was written on the left side of the graph (y-axis). A series of M&M colors was written on the bottom of the graph (x-axis). A bar was drawn for each color up to the matching percentage.
9. The histogram step was repeated for each of the favorite M&M colors

Aim and Hypothesis

By experimenting on how the human mind works, I will be testing if choices affect people being bias towards their colour preferences if their preferences will affect their movement and hand-eye coordination by picking up M&Ms quickly.

If I placed a variety of coloured M&Ms are before a participant, the chosen number of their favourite colour M&Ms will be the highest

Risk Assessment

The risk assessment are factors that can cause harm to the experimenter or the subjects when conducting an experiment.
This experiment only includes choosing M&Ms. There is very low/minimal risk when performing this experiment, as no food consumption is needed. The only risk factor involved is the the participant may be allergic to chocolate by touch/smell.

Planning Log

Planning Process:
I will have coloured M&Ms and participants will choose 20 M&Ms very quickly. Each of the participant’s chosen M&Ms will be placed in a zip-lock bag with their favourite colour written on it. Their chosen M&Ms will be compared with their favourite colour and then recorded.

Independent and Dependent Variables:
The independent variables are the participant's favourite colour as their colour preference will be the cause as to which coloured M&Ms they will pick.
The dependent variable is the chosen M&Ms by the participants and the number chosen for each colour as it is the effect of the participant's favourite colour.

Experimental Controls:
The controlled variable I kept was the number of M&Ms of each colour to be placed before each participant so that all participants will be able to have and equal chance of choosing their M&Ms. I also controlled the age group and gender so that all participants were as equal as possible.

Risk Assessment:
There is very low/minimal risk when performing this experiment. As no food consumption is needed, the only risk involved would be allergic to chocolate by touch.

Validity and Reliability:
The validity of this experiment is high as it does measure participant's favour towards their specific colours and results will show if they had chose more of their favourite colour than others or not.
The reliability of this experiment is fairly accurate as majority of people tend to become bias towards their preferenced colours and therefore if another test was conducted, the results will be very similar.

Background Research

A favourite colour can be chosen for a particular reason. It may give you a sentimental value or re remind you of particular memories. It may have also been chosen for no particular reason and that you just favour it. Though, can this mysterious element change our choices and how we think?

Our brains functions our whole body. We rely on the brain to see things and to perform activities. Our visual cortex interprets the colours we see in everyday life. Inside our brains, we have neurons which are cells that transmit information throughout the body. This may lead to colour preferences. As the neurons in our brain favour specific colours, the question is if those colours will affect our movement?

The motor cortex in our brains allow it to coordinate our muscles and how we move. A well coordinated person has great hand-eye coordination which allows them to react quickly to different situations. If our senses are also controlled by the brain, using quick movements to choose different colours may affect our hand-eye coordination.