Extraneous Variables Flashcards
Extraneous Variable
Variables which aren’t the IV but could affect the results of the experiment
Situational Variable
Factors in the environment that can unintentionally affect the DV
Controlled by Standardisation
Participant Variable
The individual characteristics of each participant that may impact how they respond in the experiment
Demand Characteristics
Where participants form an interpretation of the experiment’s purpose and unconsciously change their behaviour to fit that interpretation
Controlled by single blind
Investigator Effects
Experimenter somehow conveys to participants how they should behave
Controlled by standardisation & double blind
Order Effects
Any effect which comes from participants doing both conditions of the experiment
Controlled by counterbalancing
Social Desirability
When a participant wants to come across well to the researchers
Controlled by anonymity
Placebo Effect
When people taking a drug will feel how they expect to feel, not because the drug works, but because they believe the drug will work
Controlled by single blind
Confounding Variable
Variable that’s not the IV but does vary systematically with the IV/ Changes in the DV may be due to the confounding variable other than the IV, and therefore the outcome is meaningless
Standardisation
All aspects of environment are standardised as much as possible
Single Blind
Don’t tell participants what the study is about so they have no knowledge of what to expect from the outcome
Double blind
As well as not telling the participant what the study is about, also get an external experimenter to conduct the experiment, who doesn’t know the aim
Random Allocation
Randomly allocating participants to each condition of the IV
