PSY 221
Assignment #2 for Week 3
1. Describe the independent variable(s) in this study, including how it was manipulated.
The independent variables in this study were the facial expressions (smile, neutral and
frown) that were displayed, the person’s gender and the respondents’ gender. The students
who were conducting this experimenting were given specific instructions on how to
practice these expressions in order to obtain clear results. Each student displayed a
randomized way of facial expression to 15 students and recorded the data (Hinsz,
Tomhave, pg. 587).
2. Describe the dependent variable(s) in this study, including how it was measured.
The dependent variable in this study was the facial expression that was obtained by the
respondent after a certain facial expression was displayed to them. Gender also played a
huge role in determining the response through facial expressions. The students displayed
these expressions to random people in public/natural settings such as shopping market,
libraries and universities (Hinsz, Tomhave, pg. 587). After giving a specific facial
expression to a random person, the response of the other person was recorded.
3. What hypotheses were the authors testing with this experiment?
In this experiment, the authors were testing whether a smile and frown are responded
with a smile or a frown. The authors suggested that a smile will lead to a smile while a
frown will not result in a frown but rather a neutral expression. Also, they hypothesized
that females will be more reactive to facial expressions compared to their male
counterparts and males will be more likely to react to females rather than males (Hinsz,
Tomhave, pg. 587).
Assignment #2 for Week 3
1. Describe the independent variable(s) in this study, including how it was manipulated.
The independent variables in this study were the facial expressions (smile, neutral and
frown) that were displayed, the person’s gender and the respondents’ gender. The students
who were conducting this experimenting were given specific instructions on how to
practice these expressions in order to obtain clear results. Each student displayed a
randomized way of facial expression to 15 students and recorded the data (Hinsz,
Tomhave, pg. 587).
2. Describe the dependent variable(s) in this study, including how it was measured.
The dependent variable in this study was the facial expression that was obtained by the
respondent after a certain facial expression was displayed to them. Gender also played a
huge role in determining the response through facial expressions. The students displayed
these expressions to random people in public/natural settings such as shopping market,
libraries and universities (Hinsz, Tomhave, pg. 587). After giving a specific facial
expression to a random person, the response of the other person was recorded.
3. What hypotheses were the authors testing with this experiment?
In this experiment, the authors were testing whether a smile and frown are responded
with a smile or a frown. The authors suggested that a smile will lead to a smile while a
frown will not result in a frown but rather a neutral expression. Also, they hypothesized
that females will be more reactive to facial expressions compared to their male
counterparts and males will be more likely to react to females rather than males (Hinsz,
Tomhave, pg. 587).
