While analyzing the interaction between age and gender, Reba finds a difference between the likelihood of being hired in young and old applicants when they are females. However, she finds no such difference among young and old applicants that are males. Based on the findings, Reba has examined the:

A. main effect of age.
B. main effect of gender.
C. simple main effect of age.
D. simple main effect of gender.

D. simple main effect of gender.

Explanation:

A simple main effect refers to the effect that one independent variable has at various different levels of a second independent variable. In this example, Reba is examining the interaction between age and gender. However, she mainly focuses on the effect of a single variable (gender) at various levels of a second variable (different ages). This type of research allows researchers to have a more complete view of the phenomenon at hand.