In a study about the effects of scent on art perception, which variable is manipulated?

In this study, the focus is on understanding how scent influences the perception of art. Therefore, the variable that is manipulated is the scent present in the room. This means that the researchers intentionally change or vary the type of scent (such as floral, citrus, etc.) in different experimental conditions to observe how it affects viewers' ratings and perceptions of the paintings.

Manipulating the scent allows the researchers to establish a causal relationship between scent and art perception. By changing this independent variable (the scent), they can measure its impact on dependent variables such as how viewers rate the paintings, or their emotional reactions, which could offer insights into how sensory experiences influence perception.

The other options relate to outcomes or settings but do not represent what is actively altered in the experiment to analyze effects on perceptions. The ratings of the paintings are results rather than manipulated variables, the type of paintings is a controlled variable that may stay constant, and the overall conditions of viewing can be considered a setting rather than a specific variable being tested.