The variable that is measured in an experiment, commonly called an effect?

The variable that is measured in an experiment, commonly called an effect?

• A. Dependent Variable
• B. Three-Term Contingency
• C. Baseline
• D. Respondent

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that the effect of an experimental manipulation shows up in the variable you measure—the dependent variable. This is the outcome or behavior you record to see how it changes when you change the independent variable. In experiments, you vary the independent variable to observe its impact on the dependent variable, so the measured variable that reflects the outcome is the dependent variable. The other terms don’t fit this role: a three-term contingency is the framework of antecedent-behavior-consequence that describes how events influence behavior, not a single measured outcome; baseline refers to the initial set of measurements before an intervention, not the variable representing the observed effect; and a respondent is a type of involuntary, elicited behavior from classical conditioning, not the general measurement of an effect.

The main idea is that the effect of an experimental manipulation shows up in the variable you measure—the dependent variable. This is the outcome or behavior you record to see how it changes when you change the independent variable. In experiments, you vary the independent variable to observe its impact on the dependent variable, so the measured variable that reflects the outcome is the dependent variable.

The other terms don’t fit this role: a three-term contingency is the framework of antecedent-behavior-consequence that describes how events influence behavior, not a single measured outcome; baseline refers to the initial set of measurements before an intervention, not the variable representing the observed effect; and a respondent is a type of involuntary, elicited behavior from classical conditioning, not the general measurement of an effect.