An I-O psychologist investigates the relationship between a test's font (bold font or regular font) and test performance. After randomly assigning 100 workers to two conditions, she finds that workers who take tests with bold font receive higher test scores than workers who take tests with regular font. The independent variable in this scenario is:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The independent variable in this scenario is test font because it is the variable that is being manipulated and tested to see its effect on test performance. Test performance is the dependent variable, or the variable that is being measured and affected by the independent variable. Test score is not the independent variable because it is the result of the dependent variable (test performance). Random assignment is a method used to control extraneous variables and ensure that the comparison between the two conditions (bold font vs. regular font) is valid, but it is not the independent variable.

An I-O Psychologist Investigates the Relationship Between a Test's Font