ANL101: Recent work on Sleep Deprivation and Peacekeeping: Statistics using R Coursework, SUSS, Singapore

Background
The data used for the current report are simulated, drawing on recent work on sleep deprivation and peacekeeping. For example, see:

Stepan, M. E., Altmann, E. M., & Fenn, K. M. (2020). Effects of total sleep deprivation on procedural peacekeeping: More than just lapses of attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149(4), 800.

Note you are not expected to provide an introduction, you do not have to read this article.

Sleep deprivation has been shown to impact many cognitive processes. One area of cognitive function is peacekeeping. Peacekeeping concerns one’s ability to follow through with a set of actions in order without skipping
steps or actions.

Procedure
Prior to the study participants had a minimum of 7 hours of sleep, and on the day before and day of the study, did not consume caffeine, alcohol, or drugs. Participants arrived at 9 pm. On arrival, participants were randomly assigned into the sleep-deprived, or not-deprived conditions, before being shown to the room in which they were to complete all questionnaires and test measures.

In this testing block, participants completed a set of demographic questionnaire items, were interviewed about their typical sleep patterns, and completed a short cognitive test battery to provide a measure of general cognitive ability. Information from the participants’ interviews was coded into low, medium, and high-quality typical sleep groups.

The total time for all assessments was approximately 2 hours. After all, measures were completed, participants in the non-sleep deprived condition were sent home and asked to return at 9 am the next day for the second testing session. The participants in the sleep-deprived condition stayed overnight and were kept awake by members of the research team.

At 9 am the next day, all participants sat the second batch of testing. At this session, the outcome of interest, peacekeeping, was assessed using the
UNRAVEL is an acronym. Each letter denes a task step to be completed. When working through the task, participants need to keep track of where they are in the sequence and perform the next step. When they reach L, then loop back to U and begin again.

The stimulus screen contains no prompts as to where in the sequence a participant is (see paper above for example stimuli). Periodically participants are distracted by the presentation of a text string participants need to type out.  The key dependent variable for the current analysis is the total number of errors made.

 Research Questions
The researchers want to know whether there is an effect of sleep deprivation on UNRAVEL performance and whether this effect is greater for those who have high-quality typical sleep. They also want to make sure that any effects identified are not due to higher cognitive ability, age, and sex. They are specifically interested in the hypothesis that the impact of sleep deprivation is different for people who report “high” quality sleep (as opposed to those reporting either “low” or “medium”).