A health psychologist is conducting an experiment to investigate the notion that short-term psychological distress influences the immune system. Participants in the first group watch a 30-minute film in which a carpenter and his assistant demonstrate how to build a deck for a house. Participants in the second group watch an almost identical film, except that during the last few minutes of the film, the carpenter slips while operating an electric hand saw and cuts off one of his assistant's fingers. Immediately after the film, the researcher draws blood samples from each subject and assesses the number of disease-fighting white blood cells. What is the independent variable in this experiment?
A) number of mistakes participants make in recalling details of the film
B) level of immune system functioning in each group
C) number of white blood cells found in the blood samples taken from each group
D) exposure to the neutral film or to the film showing the accident

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher, which in this case is the exposure to either the neutral film or the film showing the accident. The other options (A, B, and C) are either dependent variables or not relevant to the experiment.

A Health Psychologist Is Conducting an Experiment to Investigate the Notion