A psychologist wanted to see if people were more prone to seek the company of others when anxious than when calm.He randomly assigned half of his subjects to an anxiety group and then told them that,as part of the study,they would receive electric shocks.He did not frighten the other group of subjects.Finally,he recorded how many subjects in each group chose to be "tested" in a group setting and how many chose to be "tested" alone.What was the independent variable in this study?
A)tendency to desire the company of others
B)level of shock
C)level of anxiety
D)the anxious group

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The independent variable in this study is the level of anxiety, as it was manipulated by randomly assigning half of the subjects to the anxiety group and telling them they would receive electric shocks. The other group did not experience anxiety-inducing manipulation. The psychologist is testing whether anxiety affects the tendency to desire the company of others. The tendency to desire the company of others is the dependent variable in this study. The level of shock is not varied, so it is not the independent variable. The anxious group is not a variable, but a group created by the manipulation of the independent variable.

A Psychologist Wanted to See If People Were More Prone