Researchers who were interested in the effects of alcohol consumption on perceived attractiveness of members of the opposite sex randomly assigned participants to two groups. Each participant in the first group received a fruit flavored drink containing a set amount of alcohol and those in the second group received an identical tasting drink with no alcohol. Next, the participants viewed pictures of members of the opposite sex and rated their attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 10. Which of the following is the independent variable in this study?
A) alcohol consumption
B) ratings on the attractiveness scale
C) the taste of the drinks
D) perceived attractiveness

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated by the researchers to see its effect on the dependent variable, which is the one that is measured. In this study, the independent variable is alcohol consumption as the participants were randomly assigned to either receive an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink. The dependent variable is perceived attractiveness as it is the variable that is being measured by the participants' ratings on the scale. The taste of the drinks is not the variable being tested in this study and is therefore not the independent variable.

Researchers Who Were Interested in the Effects of Alcohol Consumption