IVs and DVs in Psychology

Developmental psychologists want to know if exposing children to public television improves their reading skills.

• IV: watching public television

• IV: reading skills

• DV: watching public television

• DV: reading skills

Physiological psychologists wonder about the relationship between the intake of wine and emotional reactions to frightening stimuli.

• IV: wine intake

• IV: emotional reactions

• DV: wine intake

• DV: emotional reactions

Psychologists want to know whether encouraging comments will make people work harder on an assembly line

• IV: encouraging comments

• IV: effort in work

• DV: encouraging comments

• DV: effort in work

Cognitive psychologists wonder what kind of diagrams are easiest for people to remember.

• IV: diagram types

• IV: memory

• DV: diagram types

• DV: memory

A clinical psychologist wants to know whether people are more or less likely to have problems in the future if they have had psychotherapy

• IV: number or degree of problems

• IV: having had psychotherapy

• DV: number or degree of problems

• DV: having had psychotherapy

A social psychologist wants to know whether people are more cooperative when treated rudely or politely by an authority figure.

• IV: level of cooperation

• IV: rude or polite treatment

• DV: level of cooperation

• DV: rude or polite treatment

Are workers happier if they wear name tags at work?

• IV: happiness

• IV: wearing a name tag

• DV: happiness

• DV: wearing a nametag

Do extroverts have more fun than introverts at parties?

• IV: extrovert

• IV: amount of fun had at a party

• DV: extrovert

• DV: amount of fun at a party

A developmental psychologist is interested in how the activity level of four-year-olds is affected by viewing a 20- minute video of the SpongeBob SquarePants or a 20-minute video of Play School.

• IV: TV program viewed

• IV: activity level

• DV: TV program viewed

• DV: activity level

One group were trained in meditation and another group received no training. The effects this had on their brains were measured using brain scans. WHAT IS THE IV IN THIS SCENARIO

• Meditation training

• Brain Scans

• The group who received meditation

• The effects on the brain