A researcher is interested in interpersonal attraction and the factors that affect it.She designs a study in which she looks at the effect of similarity and social warmth on interpersonal attraction.Participants in her study meet a target person who either is or is not similar to the participant (the similarity variable)and who is either friendly or aloof (the social warmth variable).After interacting with the target person,participants are then asked to rate how attractive they think the target person is.In this study,the independent variables are:
A) similarity and interpersonal attraction.
B) similarity and social warmth.
C) social warmth and interpersonal attraction.
D) similarity,social warmth,and interpersonal attraction.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The independent variables in the study are similarity and social warmth. The researcher is manipulating these variables to see how they affect interpersonal attraction. The outcome variable, or dependent variable, is attractiveness rating given by the participants. The answer is not A because similarity and interpersonal attraction are not both independent variables in this study, but rather, similarity is an independent variable that affects interpersonal attraction. Similarly, the answer is not C because social warmth and interpersonal attraction are not both independent variables, but rather, social warmth is an independent variable that affects interpersonal attraction. The answer is not D because interpersonal attraction is not an independent variable, but rather, it is the dependent variable that is being measured based on the manipulation of the independent variables.

A Researcher Is Interested in Interpersonal Attraction and the Factors