A confederate stands near a participant at a bus stop and drops some papers. The dependent variable is whether the participant helps the confederate pick them up. In a factorial design, one independent variable is whether the confederate is male or female and the other is whether the confederate has a cane or not. Which of the following describes a potential interaction effect in this experiment?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

An interaction effect is present when the effect of one independent variable depends on the level of another independent variable. In this case, the potential interaction effect is that the effect of having a cane on helping behavior may be different for male and female confederates. Choice C describes this potential interaction, where participants help the male confederate more when he has a cane, but the presence of a cane does not have an impact on whether participants help the female confederate.

A Confederate Stands near a Participant at a Bus Stop