VARIABLES

Variable
 A variable is something that can be changed, such
as a characteristic or value. Variables are generally
used in psychology experiments to determine if
changes to one thing result in changes to another.
 Variables change within the course of an
experiment, whether clinical treatment or not.
Types of Variables
 Independent Variable
 Dependent Variable
 Intervening Variable
 Extraneous Variable
Extraneous Variables
 Extraneous variables are not the independent
variable, but could affect the results (e.g.
dependent variable) of the experiment.
Types of Extraneous Variable
 There four types of extraneous variable;
1. Situational variables – These are aspects of the
environment that might affect the participant’s
behavior, e.g. noise, temperature, lighting
conditions, etc. Situational variables should
be controlled so they are the same for all
participants.
Cont…..

 2. Participant / Person variables – This refers to the

ways in which each participant varies from the other, and
how this could affect the results e.g. mood, intelligence,
anxiety, nerves, concentration etc
Conti..
 3. Experimenter / Investigator Effects – The
experimenter unconsciously conveys to participants
how they should behave this is called experimenter
bias
 The experimenter might do this by giving
unintentional clues to the participants about what the
experiment is about and how they expect them to
behave. This affects the participants’ behavior
Cont…..
 4. Demand characteristics – these are all the clues in
an experiment which convey to the participant the
purpose of the research.
Participants will be affected by:
 their surroundings

 the researcher’s characteristics

 the researcher’s behavior (e.g. non-verbal

communication)
 their interpretation of what is going on in the situation
Cont….
 There is a need control on extraneous variables
includes,
keeping the temperature, lighting and time of day of
testing constant to rule out differences in these
factors as possible explanations for any changes in
the dependent variable.
Cont…

 Researchers usually attempt to hold factors other

than the independent variable constant for all
participants or group
 When researcher do not, or cannot control
extraneous variables, the study is vulnerable to
various threats to its internal validity
Assignment # 2
 Write down any two research titles, identify the
possible extraneous variables in each research title
Thank You