Question

A researcher wants to statistically test whether there are gender differences in participant responses to stress. The researcher exposed all participants to five stress conditions (no stress, public speaking stress, heat stress, cold stress, noise stress). The researcher hypothesized that participants' stress levels, as measured by salivary cortisol levels, would be affected by type of stress and by gender differences. What are the independent and dependent variables in the study

Answer 1

• Independent variable ⇒ Gender
• Dependent variable ⇒ Stress levels

Step-by-step explanation:

The independent variable is the one that is manipulated in an experiment to see whether it will have an effect on the dependent variable. The dependent variable therefore changes when the independent variable is manipulated which means that it is dependent on the effects of the independent variable.

In this scenario, the gender is the independent variable and stress levels are the dependent variable. Gender is being manipulated by being changed from gender to gender to see if it will have an effect on the stress level experienced by a participant of a certain gender.