Vocabulary

Confounds

Factors that undermine the ability to draw causal inferences from an experiment.

Correlation

Measures the association between two variables, or how they go together.

Dependent variable

The variable the researcher measures but does not manipulate in an experiment.

Experimenter expectations

When the experimenter’s expectations influence the outcome of a study.

Independent variable

The variable the researcher manipulates and controls in an experiment.

Longitudinal study

A study that follows the same group of individuals over time.

Operational definitions

How researchers specifically measure a concept.

Participant demand

When participants behave in a way that they think the experimenter wants them to behave.

Placebo effect

When receiving special treatment or something new affects human behavior.

Quasi-experimental design

An experiment that does not require random assignment to conditions.

Random assignment

Assigning participants to receive different conditions of an experiment by chance.