Is biological disposition an Independent Variable? What do you think?

[roganjosh27]

I've been asked to look at the relationship between child attachment in the
first year of life and problem behavior at age 10. Also, whether gender of the child may predict problem behavior at age 10.

So I need to design a study, (longitudinal study I would say) and get women from a local hospital to let me test their babies for one of 4 attachment styles. Then 10 years later see which of those babies have problem behaviors. This being the Dependent Variable.

My Question is: Is the baby's biological attachment style the IV or the fact that I test them and then classify them as a certain attachment style and put them into one of four groups?

A further question: Can biology ever be an Independent Variable because then how can the researcher manipulate it?

Thanks very much

 

[Karabiner]

I've been asked to look at the relationship between child attachment in the
first year of life and problem behavior at age 10.

You will need a large sample for that,
otherwise you'll probably have low power.

Also, whether gender of the child may predict problem behavior at age 10.

It does.

So I need to design a study, (longitudinal study I would say) and get women from a local hospital to let me test their babies for one of 4 attachment styles.

Does this mean you want to measure attachment
in newborn children? You will need a HUGE sample
in that case.

My Question is: Is the baby's biological attachment style the IV

Just out of curiosity, what is "biological attachment style"
conceptually? And how is it measured?

or the fact that I test them and then classify them as a certain attachment style and put them into one of four groups?

Your predictor is "attachment style", as measured
by you and your instruments. Whether you can call
attachment style an independent variable depends on
which definition of an IV you choose. AFAIK
some experts claim that an IV just causally influences
a DV, while others claim that an IV is a variable that
necessarily was manipulated by an experimenter.

A further question: Can biology ever be an Independent Variable because then how can the researcher manipulate it?

What exactely do you mean by biology here?
There are myriads of biological factors that
can be manipulated by experimenters, but
supposedly you have certain meanings in your mind.

With kind regards

K.