Independent and Dependent Variable Discussion

 

 

Carefully study independent and dependent variables on pages 193-202 of your text. Explain the differences between the independent and dependent variables and give examples of each.

Remember to cite your source(s) using APA style.

respond to two peers

peers1 For this week, we are learning about independent and dependent variables. Upon further sudying, I have learned a few things. A variable is something that may be modified. With psychology research experiments, variables can be used to see if changing one factor causes changes in another. Variables are very important in psychology research. Researchers can find if changes to a certain vasriable cause changes in another by altering some factors and evaluating the effects on the other variables. There are two different names, the dependent varaiable and the dependent variable.

An independent variable is a variable that can be manipulated by the experimenter and can have direct effect on dependent and can be a positive or negative effect. The independent variables are assumed to be controlled by the experimenter. Every experiment requires a comparison of two varied treatment conditions, one would need to make a comparison of two or more periods of time, which are referred to as levels of the independent variables. For example, in order to quantify any changes in the severity of people’s anxiety, participants could be randomly assigned to either placebo conditions or drugs. Another example is, in an experiment examining the effect of sleep deprivation on a test performance, the independent variable in this case would be sleep deprivation.

The other variable is a depenedent variable. Dependent variable refers to a variable being tested in a scientific experiment. A dependent variable is the impact that one seeks to explain or anticipate in a research, or the result that is discovered to exist or change following the presence or change of the independent variable in a research experiment(Myers, A., & Hansen, C. H. (2012)) The independent variable and dependent variables might or might not be connected. Also known as the criterion variable, the effect variable, the outcome variable, and the response variable. Depression symptoms are a good instance of a dependent variable that is dependent on the independent variable (types of therapy).

Choosing the correct variables is important in quantitative studies because they emphasize on measuring as well as explaining factors. On one end of the spectrum, variables can be categorized while on the other side, they could be statistically analyzed.

References

Myers, A., & Hansen, C. H. (2012). Experimental psychology, 7th ed. Wadsworth Cengage,.

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peers 2 There are many examples of independent and dependent variables throughout the research literature in our book. Over the years, I have encountered and reencountered independent and dependent variables in my school exploration. An independent variable can also be referred to as IV, treatments, manipulations, interventions, and conditions, while dependent variables are also known as DV, measures, effects, outcomes, and results (Myers & Hansen, 2012). In the ideal hypothesis, variation in values of the independent variable will result in changes in the dependent variable.

An independent variable is a variable that is manipulated intentionally to vary throughout the investigation and is not affected by anything that occurs throughout the experiment (Myers & Hansen, 2012). An independent variable is at the forefront of the experiment, and it is crucial to select the appropriate independent variable when designing the research. It is fundamental to an experimental design that the independent variable has at least two different conditions or possible values, and these values are called levels of the independent variable (Myers & Hansen, 2012). The varying levels of the treatment conditions are controlled, which influences the dependent variable.

A dependent variable is a response or a particular behavior that we would expect to change due to the factors with the independent variable in the experimental treatment (Myers & Hansen, 2012). The manipulation of the independent variables creates effects on the dependent variable that can be measurable. One must remember not to rely on subjective judgment solely and pay close attention to the objective measure (Myers & Hansen, 2012).

It is crucial to remain unbiased when evaluating the outcome of experiments and to stick to discernible presentations and dimensions to ensure that the measures can be tested and retested (Myers & Hansen, 2012). By providing a clear definition of the independent variable’s effect on the dependent variable, we make replication of research more accessible.

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References

Myers, A. & Hansen, C. (2012). Experimental psychology (7^th ed.). Wadsworth/Cengage Learning