variables Flashcards
difference between IV and DV
IV is the variable that is manipulated to observe its effect on the DV whereas the DV is the variable that is being measured and is affected by the IV.
independent variable
the thing that is manipulated/ changed e.g. the different groups or conditions
dependent variable
the thing that is measured/ will be affected by the change
control variable
variables that are kept constant through experiment to prevent effects on the dependent variable
controls: random allocation
this means that everyone has an equal chance of doing either condition
controls: counterbalancing
this means that the first and second condition is not the same for every participant
e.g. half of the participants participate in condition A before condition B and vice versa
controls: randomisation
participants are assigned to condition A or B first by tossing a coin or picking out a name
controls: standardisation
everything should be as similar as possible for all the participants
e.g. instructions are the same across all conditions
extraneous variables
anything that impacts the dependent variable that is not the independent variable
how can extraneous variables be controlled?
matched pairs
confounding variables
anything other than the IV which has influences your results which has not been accounted for before the experiment begins
situational variables
a type of extraneous variable found in the environment
e.g. noise, light, time, location, temp, weather etc
participant variables
a types of extraneous variable found in participants
e.g. motivation levels, moods, skills, experience, fatigue, eyesight
experimenter variables/ investigator effects
effects of the experimenters expectations which are communicated intentionally or unintentionally
e.g. an experimenter might accidentally give you clues as to the right answer in a test by their use of body language or their tone of voice
