Question

Andy hypothesized that the stress created during economic downturns would increase the probability of spousal abuse. Stress would be considered the _________ variable, and spousal abuse would be considered the ___________ variable.

Answer 1

Independent, dependent

Step-by-step explanation:

Andy hypothesized that the stress created during economic downturns would increase the probability of spousal abuse. Stress would be considered the independent variable, and spousal abuse would be considered the dependent variable.

In an experiment, the independent variable is a variable whose variation does not depend on the variation in another variable. The independent variable is often denoted as x. On the contrary, a variations in a dependent variable is often affected by a variation in another variable (independent variable).

In the hypothesis by Andy, spousal abuse is dependent on stress level, hence stress level is the independent variable and spousal abuse is the dependent variable.