A Level Psychology OCR Practice Exam

Which of the following was the dependent variable in Gibson and Walk's study?

1. The way infants respond to visual stimuli

2. The age at which infants can crawl

3. Whether or not the child would crawl to its mother

4. The heart rate of the infants measured during the experiment

The correct answer is: Whether or not the child would crawl to its mother

In Gibson and Walk's study, the primary focus was to investigate depth perception in infants, particularly how they would respond to the visual cliff—a situation designed to assess their ability to perceive depth and potential danger. The dependent variable reflects the behavior or response that researchers measure in relation to the manipulation of an independent variable. In this case, the dependent variable was whether or not the child would crawl to its mother. This choice accurately represents the outcome of the study, as the researchers were interested in observing the infants' decisions when faced with the visual cliff. Their willingness or refusal to crawl toward their mother across the cliff provides insights into how they perceive the depth and evaluate safety in their environment. The other options do not accurately capture the specific behavior the researchers were measuring. For instance, the way infants respond to visual stimuli is too broad and relates to overall perception rather than the specific act of crawling. The age at which infants can crawl is a developmental measure rather than a response to the experimental setup. Lastly, while heart rate can provide physiological data, it does not directly reflect the behavioral response that Gibson and Walk were investigating concerning depth perception. Thus, the measure of whether a child would crawl to its mother correctly identifies the behavior that was assessed in their study.