Class activity about variables. Group work.

Read the following hypothetical examples and identify the dependent and independent
variable. Give reasons.

1. Chemotherapy and cancer

A hospital is investigating the effectiveness of a new type of chemotherapy on cancer. The

researchers identified 120 patients with relatively similar types of cancerous tumors in both
size and stage of progression.

The patients are randomly assigned to one of three groups: one group receives no
chemotherapy, one group receives a low dose of chemotherapy, and one group receives a high
dose of chemotherapy.

Each group receives chemotherapy treatment three times a week for two months, except for
the no-treatment group. At the end of two months, the doctors measure the size of each
patient’s tumor.

A: The
independent variable is a new type of chemotherapy
on cancer, and the dependent variable is tumor size.
2. Interior Design Color and Eating Rate

A well-known fast-food corporation wants to know if the color of the interior of their
restaurants will affect how fast people eat. Of course, they would prefer that consumers enter
and exit quickly to increase sales volume and profit.

So, they rent space in a large shopping mall and create three different simulated restaurant
interiors of different colors. One room is painted mostly white with red trim and seats; one
room is painted mostly white with blue trim and seats; and one room is painted mostly white
with off-white trim and seats.

Next, they randomly select shoppers on Saturdays and Sundays to eat for free in one of the
three rooms. Each shopper is given a box of the same food and drink items and sent to one of
the rooms. The researchers record how much time elapses from the moment they enter the
room to the moment they leave.

A: The
independent variable is the color of the room, and the
dependent variable is the amount of time spend in the
room eating.
3. Hair Color and Attraction

A large multinational cosmetics company wants to know if the color of a woman’s hair
affects the level of perceived attractiveness in males. So, they use Photoshop to manipulate
the same image of a female by altering the color of her hair: blonde, brunette, red, and
brown.

Next, they randomly select university males to enter their testing facilities. Each participant sits
in front of a computer screen and responds to questions on a survey. At the end of the survey,
the screen shows one of the photos of the female.

At the same time, software on the computer that utilizes the computer’s camera is measuring
each male’s pupil dilation. The researchers believe that larger dilation indicates greater
perceived attractiveness.

A: The independent variable is color of human hair, and the dependent

variable is the pupil dilatation.
 4. Mozart And Math

After many claims that listening to Mozart will make you smarter, a group of education
specialists decides to put it to the test. So, first, they go to a nearby school in a middle-class
neighborhood.

During the first three months of the academic year, they randomly select some 5th-grade
classrooms to listen to Mozart during their lessons and exams. Other 5th grade classrooms will
not listen to any music during their lessons and exams.

The researchers then compare the scores of the exams between the two groups of classrooms.

Although there are a lot of obvious limitations to this hypothetical, it is the first step.

A: The independent variable is Mozart, and the dependent

variable is exam scores.
5. Education and Earnings

A researcher wants to know if education level impacts how much a person earns in their job.
She studies the amount of education a person has in their life to their current earnings.

A: The independent variable is education level, and the dependent

variable is earnings.
6. Essential Oils and Sleep

A company that specializes in essential oils wants to examine the effects of lavender on sleep
quality. They hire a sleep research lab to conduct the study. The researchers at the lab have
their usual test volunteers sleep in individual rooms every night for one week.

The conditions of each room are all exactly the same, except that half of the rooms have
lavender released into the rooms and half do not. While the study participants are sleeping,
their heart rates and amount of time spent in deep sleep are recorded with high-tech
equipment.

At the end of the study, the researchers compare the total amount of time spent in deep sleep
of the lavender-room participants with the no lavender-room participants.

A: The independent variable is lavender, and the dependent variable is

total amount of time spent in deep sleep.
7. Teaching Style and Learning

A group of teachers is interested in which teaching method will work best for developing
critical thinking skills.

So, they train a group of teachers in three different teaching styles: teacher-centered, where
the teacher tells the students all about critical thinking; student-centered, where the students
practice critical thinking and receive teacher feedback; and AI-assisted teaching, where the
teacher uses a special software program to teach critical thinking.

At the end of three months, all the students take the same test that assesses critical thinking
skills. The teachers then compare the scores of each of the three groups of students.

A: The independent variable is teaching methods, and the dependent

variable is critical thinking test.
 8. Protein Supplements and Muscle Mass

A large food company is considering entering the health and nutrition sector. Their R&D food
scientists have developed a protein supplement that is designed to help build muscle mass for
people that work out regularly.

The company approaches several gyms near its headquarters. They enlist the cooperation of
over 120 gym rats that work out 5 days a week. Their muscle mass is measured, and only those
with a lower level are selected for the study, leaving a total of 80 study participants.

They randomly assign half of the participants to take the recommended dosage of their
supplement every day for three months after each workout. The other half takes the same
amount of something that looks the same but actually does nothing to the body.

At the end of three months, the muscle mass of all participants is measured.

A: The independent variable is supplement, and the dependent variable is muscle mass.

9. Vitamins and Health

Some people take vitamins every day. A group of health scientists decides to conduct a study
to determine if taking vitamins improves health.

They randomly select 1,000 people that are relatively similar in terms of their physical health.
The key word here is “similar.”

Because the scientists have an unlimited budget (and because this is a hypothetical example,
all of the participants have the same meals delivered to their homes (breakfast, lunch, and
dinner), every day for one year.

In addition, the scientists randomly assign half of the participants to take a set of vitamins,
supplied by the researchers every day for 1 year. The other half do not take the vitamins.

At the end of one year, the health of all participants is assessed, using blood pressure and
cholesterol level as the key measurements.

They randomly select 1,000 people that are relatively similar in terms of their physical health.
The key word here is “similar.”

Because the scientists have an unlimited budget (and because this is a hypothetical example,
all of the participants have the same meals delivered to their homes (breakfast, lunch, and
dinner), every day for one year.

In addition, the scientists randomly assign half of the participants to take a set of vitamins,
supplied by the researchers every day for 1 year. The other half do not take the vitamins.

At the end of one year, the health of all participants is assessed, using blood pressure and
cholesterol level as the key measurements.

A: In this highly unrealistic study, the independent variable is vitamins, and the dependent
variable is health as measured by blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

10. Meditation and Stress

Does practicing meditation reduce stress? If you have ever wondered if this is true or not,
then you are in luck because there is a way to know one way or the other.

All we have to do is find 90 people that are similar in age, stress levels, diet and exercise, and
as many other factors as we can think of.

Next, we randomly assign each person to either practice meditation every day, three days a
week, or not at all. After three months, we measure the stress levels of each person and
compare the groups.
How should we measure stress? Well, there are a lot of ways. We could measure blood
pressure, or the amount of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood, or by using a paper and
pencil measure such as a questionnaire that asks them how much stress they feel.

A: In this study, the independent variable is meditation, and the

dependent variable is amount of stress.
11. Video Games and Aggression

When video games started to become increasingly graphic, it was a huge concern in many
countries in the world. Educators, social scientists, and parents were shocked at how graphic
games were becoming.

Since then, there have been hundreds of studies conducted by psychologists and other
researchers. A lot of those studies used an experimental design that involved males of various
ages randomly assigned to play a graphic or non-graphic video game.

Afterward, their level of aggression was measured via a wide range of methods, including
direct observations of their behavior, their actions when given the opportunity to be
aggressive, or a variety of other measures.

So many studies have used so many different ways of measuring aggression.

A: these experimental studies, the independent variable was graphic

video games, and the dependent variable was observed level aggression.
12. Vehicle Exhaust and Cognitive Performance

Car pollution is a concern for a lot of reasons. In addition to being bad for the environment, car
exhaust may cause damage to the brain and impair cognitive performance.

One way to examine this possibility would be to conduct an animal study. The research
would look something like this: laboratory rats would be raised in three different rooms
that varied in the degree of car exhaust circulating in the room: no exhaust, little exhaust,
or a lot of exhaust.

After a certain period of time, perhaps several months, the effects on cognitive
performance could be measured.

One common way of assessing cognitive performance in laboratory rats is by measuring

the amount of time it takes to run a maze successfully. It would also be possible to
examine the physical effects of car exhaust on the brain by conducting an autopsy.

A: In this animal study, the independent variable would be car

exhaust and the dependent variable would be amount of time to run
a maze.