A health psychologist is conducting an experiment on the link between short-term psychological distress and the immune system. Participants in the first group watched a 30-minute film in which a carpenter and his assistant demonstrated how to build a deck for a house. Participants in the second group watched an almost identical film, except that during the last few minutes of the film, the carpenter slipped while operating an electric hand saw and cut off one of his assistant's fingers. Immediately after the film, blood samples were drawn from each subject and assessed for the number of disease-fighting white blood cells. What is the independent variable in this experiment?
A)number of mistakes made by participants 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 in this experiment is the exposure to the neutral film or to the film showing the accident. This is because it is the only variable that is intentionally altered by the researcher in order to see how it affects the participants' immune system. The other options (number of mistakes made by participants in recalling details of the film, level of immune system functioning in each group, number of white blood cells found in the blood samples taken from each group) are all potential dependent variables that may be affected by the independent variable (i.e. exposure to the film).

A Health Psychologist Is Conducting an Experiment on the Link