Extraneous & Confounding Variables

Question 1

what is an independent variable?

Answer 1

a variable that is manipulated by a researcher to investigate whether it consequently brings change in another variable

Question 2

what is the dependent variable?

Answer 2

a variable which is measured and predicted to be dependent upon the IV

Question 3

what is a variable?

Answer 3

something that may or does vary; a variable feature or factor.

Question 4

what does the experimenter not want? so what do they do?

Answer 4

the experimenter doesn’t want any other variable (other than the IV) to influence the experiment and affect the DV, so they try to CONTROL these other variables to make their study more reliable.

Question 5

what is an extraneous variable?

Answer 5

any variable (except for the IV) that could have an influence on your findings (if not controlled).
it can have an effect on the DV and make it look as though there was an effect.

Question 6

what is a confounding variable?

Answer 6

an EV that has not been controlled and has a direct impact on the findings

Question 7

what are the 3 types of extraneous variable?

Answer 7

1. situational
2. participant
3. experimenter effects

Question 8

what are situational variables?

Answer 8

variables that are found in the environment or situation in which the study is conducted e.g. noise, lighting, time of day, location, levels of crowding, heat or weather conditions.

Question 9

what are participant variables?

Answer 9

variables to do with the person
e.g. the participant’s mood at the time of the study, motivation etc.
1. demand characteristics
there may be cues in the experiment that cause the participant to figure out the aim of the study, and then behave accordingly.
2. social desirability

Question 10

what are experimenter effects?

Answer 10

• subtle cues given by the researcher that may influence the way a participant responds e.g. tone of voice and leading questions
• individual differences of the researcher delivering the research e.g. gender and personality type

Question 11

what is another participant variable?

Answer 11

evaluation apprehension - a change in a persons behaviour due to the anxiety of being observed/judged.

Question 12

what are demand characteristics?

Answer 12

• when human participants respond to the experimental conditions in which they are involved.
• there may be cues in the experiment that cause the participant to figure out the aim of the study, and then behave accordingly.

Question 13

what is social desirability?

Answer 13

participants may behave in a way that they think is expected and act to please the experimenter