independent and dependent variables

Question

a scientist wanted to test a theory about gender and shopping behavior. He divided a group f 100 people into 50 males and 50 females and recorded the amount of money spent on clothes shopping over a 6-month period. He found that women spend an average of $300.00 more on shopping than men. What is the independent variableI am uncertain which is the dependent and independent variables/

Answer 1

First, learn the difference between correlation and cause-and-effect.

 

For this problem, ask the question, "which determines which?"  Does spending determine whether the people are male or female --- or does being male or female determine the amount of spending?

 

The independent (free to change at will) variable determines the value of the dependent variable (depends on the independent variable).