A Researcher Thinks That a Person's Mood Has an Effect

A researcher thinks that a person's mood has an effect on how helpful that person is likely to be.To test this,the researcher has some research participants come to the laboratory where they are first given a test and then either heavily praised or strongly criticized for their test performance.Afterwards,participants are asked to help the researcher's assistant move some heavy boxes into another room.The researcher makes careful note of how many and which participants help with moving the boxes.In this example,the dependent variable is ________.

A) the participants' test performance
B) the extent to which participants helped the assistant
C) the researcher's praise or criticism
D) whether or not participants showed up for the experiment
E) the participants' mood after the praise or criticism