Oxytocin is a naturally occurring brain chemical that is nicknamed the “love hormone” because it seems to play a role in the formation of social relationships such
as mating pairs and parent-child bonding. A recent study demonstrated that oxytocin appears to increase people’s tendency to trust others (Kosfeld, Heinrichs,
Zak, Fischbacher, and Fehr, 2005). Using an investment game, the study demonstrated that people who inhaled oxytocin were more likely to give their money to a trustee compared to people who inhaled an inactive placebo. For this experimental study, identify the independent variable and the dependent variable.
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In the given experimental study, the independent variable is the substance that participants inhaled, either oxytocin or an inactive placebo. The independent variable is the factor that the researchers manipulate or control in order to observe its effect on the dependent variable.
The dependent variable in this study is the participants' tendency to trust others, as measured by their willingness to give money to a trustee in the investment game. The dependent variable is the variable being measured or observed in response to changes in the independent variable.