Question

Sherif (1935) relied on the autokinetic effect to study the effects of ambiguous situations on informational social influence. Participants came into the lab and were asked to estimate how far a light moved. They did this either alone or with three other people. In this experiment, what was the independent variable? What was the dependent variable?

a) Auto-kinetic effect; informational social influence
b) Estimation of how far the light moved; the number of people making the estimation
c) The number of people making the estimation; estimation of how far the light moved
d) Informational social influence; autokinetic effect

Answer 1

The independent variable in Sherif's study was the number of people making the estimation, and the dependent variable was the estimation of how far the light moved.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Sherif's 1935 experiment, the independent variable was the number of people making the estimation, and the dependent variable was the estimation of how far the light moved. The correct answer to the student's question is c) The number of people making the estimation; estimation of how far the light moved. This design allowed Sherif to observe how individuals' judgments of the autokinetic effect were influenced by the presence of others, reflecting informational social influence in ambiguous situations.