How can a variable, like depression, be used either as an ...

[anjilletteb]

How can a variable, like depression, be used either as an independent or as a dependent variable?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What is the difference between an independent and a dependent variable?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[lindahyatt42]

Answer to Question 1

If an experimenter wanted to see if level of depression affected some behavior, the researcher would manipulate the depression level in participants to see if behavior changed. In this case, depression level would be the IV, the manipulated variable..
If the experimenter wanted to see if some manipulation affected a person's level of depression, the researcher would manipulate an IV and see the result in terms of a person's depression level. In this case, depression would be a DV, or an outcome behavior.

Answer to Question 2

In an experiment, the independent variable (IV) is the variable that the experimenter manipulates in order to see if it behaviors change when the level of the IV changes. The dependent variable (DV) is the measurement made relating to the effect of the IV. That is, the value of the DV (i.e., the measurement of a behavior) will vary as the value of the IV varies when the IV has a causal relation to the DV.