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.