SOC 201 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Dependent And Independent Variables, Social Class
Document Summary
There are variables that influence other things and variables that are influenced by other things. When a variable influences another thing, it is called a cause; when a variable is influenced by another thing, it is called an effect. Variables that influence or affect other things = causes. Variables that are influenced or affected by other things = effects. With this new knowledge about variables as causes and as effects, let s look back at our original five hypotheses. Each hypothesis posits or suggests a cause-effect relationship. Variable is influenced by another thing, it is called an effect. Hypothesis 1, for example, posited that being a man or a woman causes individuals to choose different occupations. To make these cause-effect relationships more obvious, we could rephrase our hypotheses this way: H3: social class differences (cause) voting behavior differences (effect). H4: differences in religious affiliation (cause) differences in attitudes toward abortion (effect).
