You run a study in which participants were awakened either during REM sleep or during NREM sleep. They were then tested on a visual memory task the next day. Think back to your study of research methods in psychology; which of the following alternatives correctly names and identifies variables or groups in this study?
A) independent variable-memory task performance; dependent variable: REM vs. NREM awakening
B) experimental group-NREM awakening; control group: REM awakening
C) independent variable-REM vs. NREM awakening; dependent variable: memory task performance
D) none of these options

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The independent variable is what the researcher manipulates or changes to see if it has an effect on some other variable, which in this case is REM vs. NREM awakening. The dependent variable is what the researcher measures to see if it is affected by the independent variable, which in this study is the performance on the memory task.

You Run a Study in Which Participants Were Awakened Either