Name_________Elrashid
Bushra_________________
Date: __________01/24/2021__________
Class Activity Variables & Correlations
1. Karen Allen and her colleagues (Allen, Blascovich, Tomaka, & Kelsey, 1991) conducted a
study examining the effects of social support on stress responses. In particular, these
researchers were interested in learning whether individuals respond differently to stress when
they are alone than in the presence of their best friends or pets. The researchers measured 45
female participants’ blood pressure as they solved mental arithmetic problems either by
themselves, in the presence of their best female friends, or in the presence of their dogs.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of these three conditions. The researchers predicted
that participants who had the social support of either a pet or a best friend while carrying out a
stressful task would have lower blood pressure than participants who carried out the same
stressful task alone. The researchers were surprised to find participants’ blood pressure was
highest when their friends were present and lowest when their dogs were present.
What is the independent variable?
Company (e.g dog, best friend, solitude)
What is the dependent variable?
math problems
Social support provided by Female Cohorts’
Blood Pressure of female cohort solving
2. What is 1 research questions that you think would be interesting to explore? (Be sure that your
research questions take the shape, ‘What is the effect of ____ on _____?’. Also, think about how
you would test your research question.)
Research Question : What is the effect of social media consumption on the mental health of
youth/ adolescents?
a. What is the independent variable? The independent variable is social media consumption ( e.g.
a lot, moderate, little, none) of the demographic mentioned (adolescents)
b. What is the dependent variable? The dependent variable is the mental health condition of the
youth.
3. For each type of correlation, provide an example of two variables that you think may be
related in those ways.
a. Positive correlation: Ample Exercise (independent) and self-esteem(dependent)
b. Negative correlation: Smoking (independent) and lung capacities of humans (dependent)
c. 0 (no correlation): watching cartoons (independent) and height of orangutans (dependent)