I am having trouble describing the interaction (How does effect of one Independent variable depend on level of other independent variable and why?)

My 1st independent variable is
Type of Stimulus: with 2 levels pictures and words.

My 2nd independent variable is
Type of Content: with 2 levels living and non-living objects.

My dependent variable is words recalled.

Any feedback would help thanks.

What is the hypothesis you are testing?

How are you setting up your experiment?

What type of statistics are you using to evaluate your data? An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) will indicate interaction effects.

With the lack of the above information, this is all the help I can provide.

To understand how the effect of one independent variable depends on the level of another independent variable, you can perform a two-way factorial ANOVA.

Here's how you can approach it:

1. Data collection: Gather data on the dependent variable (words recalled) for each combination of the two independent variables (Type of Stimulus and Type of Content). Make sure to have equal sample sizes for each combination.

2. Statistical analysis: Conduct a two-way factorial ANOVA to examine the main effects and interaction effect.

- Main effects: Start by analyzing the main effects of each independent variable separately. Look at the effect of Type of Stimulus (pictures vs. words) on words recalled, and separately, the effect of Type of Content (living vs. non-living) on words recalled. This analysis will help you determine if there are any significant differences between the levels of each independent variable.

- Interaction effect: After analyzing the main effects, examine the interaction effect between the two independent variables. This will help you understand if the effect of one independent variable (e.g., Type of Stimulus) depends on the level of the other independent variable (e.g., Type of Content). If the interaction effect is significant, it suggests that the effect of one independent variable varies across the levels of the other independent variable.

3. Interpretation: When interpreting the results, consider the main effects and the interaction effect together. If there are significant main effects, it means that each independent variable has a significant effect on the dependent variable, regardless of the other independent variable. However, if there is a significant interaction effect, it indicates that the effect of Type of Stimulus on words recalled differs depending on the level of Type of Content (and vice versa).

Through this analysis, you can determine if there are any significant interactions between the two independent variables and gain insights into how the effect of one independent variable depends on the level of the other independent variable in relation to the dependent variable.