A study examining the relationship between humor and memory compares memory performance scores for one group presented with humorous sentences and a second group presented with nonhumorous sentences. The participants presented with the humorous sentences are all males. The participants presented with the nonhumorous sentences are all females. In this study, gender (male/female) is best characterized as a(n) ____ variable.
A) independent
B) dependent
C) extraneous
D) confounding

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Gender in this study acts as a confounding variable because it is an extraneous variable that varies along with the independent variable (type of sentence) and could potentially influence the outcome (memory performance), making it difficult to determine if the differences in memory performance are due to the type of sentence or the gender of the participants.

A Study Examining the Relationship Between Humor and Memory Compares