Identify the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE in the following hypothesis: 'Researchers expect that children exposed to opiates prenatally will be at increased risk for developmental delays, regardless of their race or socioeconomic class.'

Identify the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE in the following hypothesis: 'Researchers expect that children exposed to opiates prenatally will be at increased risk for developmental delays, regardless of their race or socioeconomic class.'

• A. Race
• B. Prenatal exposure to opiates
• C. Socioeconomic class
• D. Developmental delays

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is what the researchers are changing or comparing to see its effect on an outcome. In this hypothesis, the factor whose presence or absence is being examined as the potential cause is prenatal exposure to opiates. That is the independent variable because it’s the variable the researchers expect will influence the child’s development. The outcome they measure is developmental delays, which is the dependent variable. Race and socioeconomic class are mentioned to show the effect is expected to hold across different groups; they’re characteristics of the participants used to check for consistency, not the factor being manipulated.

The main idea here is what the researchers are changing or comparing to see its effect on an outcome. In this hypothesis, the factor whose presence or absence is being examined as the potential cause is prenatal exposure to opiates. That is the independent variable because it’s the variable the researchers expect will influence the child’s development.

The outcome they measure is developmental delays, which is the dependent variable. Race and socioeconomic class are mentioned to show the effect is expected to hold across different groups; they’re characteristics of the participants used to check for consistency, not the factor being manipulated.