Passage For Decades Psychologists Have Known That People Tend to Execute

Passage
For decades psychologists have known that people tend to execute tasks differently when alone compared to when in the presence of other people.In Study 1, researchers analyzed records of bicycle racers' times both during competitions and when racing alone against the clock.  They found that the fastest times were recorded during competitions, particularly larger races with over 100 cyclists.  This finding was initially attributed to the competitive nature of the races, but later studies suggest performance improves when in the presence of other people, even outside of competition.In Study 2, researchers conducted an experiment based on the idea that the mere presence of others impacts performance.  This study involved a simple task (ie, getting dressed) , which was performed either alone or with an audience.  This task was chosen because it was familiar and routine, without clear standards of good or bad performance.  Furthermore, the participants had no idea that this task was of interest to the experimenters.Forty-five male undergraduate students were recruited for Study 2.  The researchers informed the participants that they were required to remove their socks and shoes and replace them with unfamiliar ones and then put on a lab coat, surgical mask, and protective eye glasses (hard task) .  After a 10-minute wait, the participants were informed that the study was called off because the remaining participants failed to arrive and they could put back on their familiar clothes (easy task) .All participants in Study 2 were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions.  In the audience condition, each participant performed both tasks in a room with an attentive confederate watching.  In the incidental audience condition, a confederate sat facing away from each participant while the participant performed both tasks.  The third group of participants performed both tasks alone (control condition) .  Participants' behavior was observed and timed by an inconspicuous researcher.  It was found that, compared to controls, participants performed more quickly under both experimental conditions when putting back on their familiar clothing, and performed more slowly when dressing in unfamiliar clothing.
Adapted from H. Markus ©1977 Elsevier B.V.
-The researchers in Study 2 repeated the experiment, but also measured each participant's heart rate before and during the tasks.  Which of the following is true regarding this new design?

A) The presence of an observer is a dependent variable and autonomic arousal is an independent variable.
B) The presence of an observer and autonomic arousal are both independent variables.
C) The time taken to get dressed is a dependent variable and autonomic arousal is an independent variable.
D) The time taken to get dressed and autonomic arousal are both dependent variables.

Correct Answer:

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