Variables and control

Question 1

Fill in the gaps :

_____,_____ and _____ _____ can all be possible _____ _____ if they are not ____ they will become _____ _____.

Answer 1

1- Participant
2- Experimental 
3- Situational Variables
4- Extraneous Variables
5- Controlled
6- Confounding Variables

Question 2

Define : Participant Variables

Answer 2

• Characteristics of the participants which might effect the outcome of the study
• e.g. age, gender or culture

Question 3

Define : Experimental Variables

Answer 3

• Characteristics of the experimenter or the experimental team which might influence how the experiment is set up or how the p’s respond/behave
• e.g the screw you effect

Question 4

Define : Situational variables

Answer 4

• Characteristics of the environment where the experiment is being conducted which may affect the results
• e.g temperature, time or humidity

Question 5

Define : controlling variables

Answer 5

• keeping all the other variables in the experiment exclude - so they do not affect the results
• e.g. using the same investigator for all the conditions

Question 6

Define : extraneous variables

Answer 6

• Variables other than the IV that may not have been controlled and therefore may affect the DV
• e.g. different temperatures on different days

Question 7

Define : Confounding Variables

Answer 7

• Variables that have not been controlled and have affected the outcome. These may vary systematically with the IV
• e.g Condition A having lower results because they worked in a higher temperature

Question 8

What methods can be used to fix Investigator Variables

Answer 8

• Double Blind - Neither the participants nor the researcher knows which condition the p’s are in - another assistant conducts the research
• Standardised Procedure - All the p’s experience the same instructions and have the same experience of the procedure

Question 9

What methods can be used to fix Situational Variables

Answer 9

• Single Blind - p’s are not told which condition they are in, this controls demand characteristics
• Deception - P’s are not told the true research aim (note ethical concerns)

Question 10

What methods can be used to fix Participant Variables

Answer 10

• Random Allocation - of p’s to the 2 conditions of the IV : put all p’s names in a hat - all odd = condition 1, all even = condition 2 - cancels likelihood of p variables impacting conditions
• Counterbalancing (ABBA) - sample is divided in half, first half complete the two conditions in one order and the other half complete them in a reverse order