extraneous variables Flashcards
what does it mean if a study claims to measure what it is measuring
it is valid
what are the three types of extraneous variables
participant variables
investigator effects
situational variables
what are participant variables
extraneous variables that are personal characteristics of the participant
what is the second name for investigator effects
experimenter variables
how do investigator effects occur in a study
when the researcher influences the behaviour of the participants, when then affect the results of the study
how can researchers influence the results of the study
expectations, which is an example of researcher effects
how can the researchers expectations influence the study
this can affect the researchers behaviour. this can then influence the behaviour of the participant, and therefore the results of the study. This is known as investigator effects
what are situational variables
anything external to the participants and researcher that could affect the behaviour of the participants
examples of situational variables
time of day
how noisy the testing room is
what are demand characteristics
situational variables that act as hints that enable participants to guess the aim of the study
what are the two ways that participants can respond to demand characteristics
some participants try to be helpful and behave the way they think they should behave. others rebel and behave the opposite to how they think they should behave
what can demand characteristics be
situational variables or investigator effects
what happens when extraneous variables are not controlled
they reduce the validity and reliability of the study
one way to control extraneous variables
is through standardisation
what is standardisation
when researchers make an extraneous variable the same for all participants, so the validity and reliability increase