A researcher wants to study the effects of texting on driving. Students in Group A drive a car in a computer game and see how many virtual accidents they have. Students in Group B are asked to drive the same virtual car but they must respond to and send at least three texts. The number of virtual accidents is measured for each group. What is the independent variable?
A) texting
B) the virtual car
C) the number of virtual accidents
D) the group assignment

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the one that is being manipulated by the researcher, in this case, it is texting. The researcher is measuring the effect of texting on driving by comparing the number of virtual accidents between Group A (no texting) and Group B (texting). Therefore, texting is the independent variable.

A Researcher Wants to Study the Effects of Texting on Driving