EPPP Psychology

Answer: D - The preference for Mozart is a moderating variable.
Moderating variables are used when researchers are interested in things like who the individuals are that perform better in spatial reasoning tasks when listening to Mozart? They are interested in changes in relationships between independent and dependent variables. Mediating variables explain the relationship between independent and dependent variables. For example, arousal might explain why people tend to perform better on spatial reasoning tasks after listening to Mozart. Mediating variables do not explain for whom the relationship between the independent and dependent variable exists the way moderating variables do.