A researcher shows pairs of color patches to American college students and members of the Dani culture in Papua New Guinea. The members of each pair are the same or slightly different in hue. Both groups of participants are asked if the members of each color pair or different. The researcher records the accuracy of all participants' color discrimination. Which is the dependent variable in this study? What should the researcher find?
A)Color discrimination accuracy is the dependent variable. The researcher should find no difference in color discrimination accuracy between the two groups.
B)Color discrimination accuracy is the dependent variable. The researcher should find that color discrimination accuracy is higher among the American than among the Dani participants.
C)The participant group is the dependent variable. The researcher should find no difference in color discrimination accuracy between the two groups.
D)The participant group is the dependent variable. The researcher should find that color discrimination accuracy is higher among the American than among the Dani participants.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Color discrimination accuracy is the dependent variable because it is the outcome that the researcher is measuring. It is expected to depend on the independent variable, which in this case could be the cultural background of the participants. The hypothesis that there would be no difference in color discrimination accuracy between the two groups is based on the idea that basic perceptual processes, such as color vision, are likely to be similar across different human populations.

A Researcher Shows Pairs of Color Patches to American College