A researcher has designed a study to test the effects of different types of individual psychotherapy on people's levels of depression. She has randomly assigned people to one of three groups: a cognitive-behavioral treatment group, a psychodynamic treatment group, or a no-treatment control group. She then measures people's level of depression after the treatment. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A) The treatment group is the dependent variable; depression is the independent variable.
B) Depression is the dependent variable; the treatment group is the independent variable.
C) Depression is the dependent variable; cognitive-behavioral treatment is the independent variable.
D) Cognitive-behavioral treatment is the dependent variable; depression is the independent variable.

Respuesta :

The independent variable here is the kind of therapy used - it does not depend on anything else in the test, but describes the difference between the three groups. (chosen by the experimenter)

the dependent variable here is the presence or absence of depression in the subjects.

So the correct answer is: B) Depression is the dependent variable; the treatment group is the independent variable