In a study about anxiousness, researchers have participants either read a story about a girl who is stressed about her final exa
ms and other work and family commitments or a classic fairytale. Before the study, they plan to have students self-report on their levels of anxiety, then re-test them after the study to see if the anxious story increased anxiousness levels. In this example, the students reported anxiousness after reading a story is the dependent variable
independent variable
operational definition.
In the given scenario, the students reporting anxious behaviour after reading the story is the example of a dependent variable. In statistical modelling, mathematical modelling and experimental sciences, dependent variables tend to depend on independent variables. Dependent variables usually represent the output whose differences are being studied.
