Explain how these two concepts of dependent and independent variables implicit in causal, or deterministic, models?Give an example?

Social Psychology (10th Edition)
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ISBN:9780134641287
Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Publisher:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Chapter1: Introducing Social Psychology
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Explain how these two concepts of dependent and independent variables implicit in causal, or deterministic, models?Give an example?

Expert Solution
Introduction

The dependent and independent variables rely on each other and are understood concerning each other. In social research, a dependent variable is a variable whose variations are determined by some other variable, its independent variable. An independent variable is a variable whose variations are not informed by other variables. The independent variable is defined by or faces variation by the researcher.

Explanation

The independent and dependent variables share a causal or deterministic relationship in research. The dependent and independent variables seem to share a cause-effect relationship most of the time. The following example would make this clear.

Consider the research topic, Job satisfaction in the BPO sector. In this case, the dependent variable would be the degree of job satisfaction in a BPO sector such as call-center. In this case, the independent variable becomes the reasons that determine the degree of job satisfaction, which are the nature of work, the pay, the duration of working hours, the work culture, etc. It can be seen here that the job satisfaction of an individual working in a call center, which is the dependent variable, is determined by independent variables such as pay, duration, work culture, etc. In this research, the dependent variable is determined by the independent variable. 

Consider this statement, lack of sleep affects the score achieved in a test. In this case, the dependent variable is the test score, and the independent variable is the duration of sleep. If the duration of sleep is less, then that would cause the test score to declines. Thus, the independent variable, i.e., lack of sleep, is causing the declining effect on scores. This example shows a causal relationship between the dependent and independent variables. 

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