How Does the Manipulation of the Independent Variable in an Experiment

question 16

Multiple Choice

How does the manipulation of the independent variable in an experiment strengthen inferences about cause and effect?

• A) It eliminates the effects of most extraneous variables.
• B) It establishes the time order of the events (or variables).
• C) It proves that a causal relationship exists.
• D) It determines that the observed association is nonspurious.

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Definitions:

Correlation

A statistical measure that expresses the extent to which two variables change together, indicating the strength and direction of their relationship.

Criterion Variable

Another term for the dependent variable, emphasizing its role as the outcome variable that is predicted or explained in a study.

Regression

A statistical method used to estimate the relationships among variables, typically to forecast a dependent variable based on one or more independent variables.

Multiple Correlation

A statistical measure that describes the extent of association between more than two variables.