The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

34 Chapter 2

an experiment.Random assignmentmeans

each participant has an equal chance of being

assigned to each condition. Because of ran-

dom assignment, on average, the people in

one condition will be comparable to the peo-

ple in the other condition, with the exception

of how they are treated with regard to the in-

dependent variable. Random assignment is

the key feature of the experimental method.

Random assignment can be accom-

plished by flipping a coin or drawing num-

bers out of a hat. Random assignment means

there is no systematic way of assigning people

to conditions. Dividing the classroom in half

so people on the right are in one group and

people on the left are in another group would

not be random. Theoretically, there could

be differences between the kinds of people

who sit on the right versus the left side of the

classroom. In the classroom in which I teach,

students who sit on the left side of the semi-

nar table can look out the window, whereas

independent variable, and observes its effect

on another variable, called thedependent

variable. To keep these two concepts straight,

remember that the dependent variable

“depends on” the independent variable. In

the experiment described previously, the

instructions on how to interact with the

puppy were the independent variable (care-

taker vs. noncaretaker condition) and the

behavior of nurturance was the dependent

variable. Table 2.1 lists more examples of in-

dependent variables and dependent variables.

How do we know that other vari-

ables besides the independent variable—the

instructions—aren’t responsible for the

effect on nurturance? Maybe the students in

the caretaker condition were more nurturant

with the animals than students in the non-

caretaker condition because they had pets in

their homes when they were growing up. This

is possible, but unlikely, because participants

are randomly assigned to each condition in

TABLE 2.1 EXAMPLES OF INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES

Research Question Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Is employment harmful to women’s health? Employment Health

Does testosterone increase aggression? Testosterone Aggression

Do African Americans have more traditional

gender-role attitudes than Caucasians? Race

Gender-role

attitudes

Which relationships are closer—same sex

or other sex? Relationship type Closeness

Are men or women smarter? Sex Intelligence

Does commitment in a relationship decrease

power? Commitment Power

Are lesbians more masculine than

heterosexual women? Sexual orientation Gender role

Is touching a function of status? Status Touching

Is housework divided more evenly among

egalitarian couples? Egalitarian vs. traditional Division of labor

Do we smile more at male infants or

at female infants? Infant sex Smiling

M02_HELG0185_04_SE_C02.indd 34 6/21/11 12:19 PM