Certified Rehabilitation Counselor Practice

The variable believed to be influenced or affected by another variable is known as what?

1. Independent variable

2. Control variable

3. Dependent variable

4. Extraneous variable

The correct answer is: Dependent variable

The term that describes a variable believed to be influenced or affected by another variable is the dependent variable. In research and experimental design, the dependent variable is the outcome that researchers measure to see how it changes in response to variations in the independent variable, which is typically manipulated or controlled in an experiment. The essence of the dependent variable's role is that it reflects the effects or changes prompted by another variable, allowing for the evaluation of relationships between variables. In this context, the independent variable is the factor that researchers believe will cause an effect, while the control variable is kept constant to avoid interfering with the relationship being studied. Extraneous variables are those that might affect the dependent variable but are not the focus of the study, potentially confounding the results. The distinction is critical for understanding how variables interact and the analysis of results in a research setting.