What is an extraneous variable?

An extraneous variable is any variable other than the IV that might affect the DV. Uncontrolled extraneous variables can make results inaccurate.

What is a situational variable? Give an example.

A situational variable is a feature of the research environment that could affect the DV. Examples include noise, lighting, temperature and time of day.

What is a participant variable? Give an example.

A participant variable is a characteristic of the people taking part that could affect the DV. Examples include age, mood, intelligence and previous experience.

Edexcel GCSE Psychology 1PS0

Development

Topic overview Early brain development Piaget's theory of cognitive development Dweck's mindset theory and Willingham's learning theory The three mountains task and Gunderson's praise study The development of morality

Memory

Topic overview Information processing, duration and capacity Retrograde and anterograde amnesia Bartlett's theory of reconstructive memory The multi-store model, reductionism and holism War of the Ghosts and the Peterson and Peterson study

Psychological Problems

Topic overview Symptoms of depression and addiction Incidence and effects of mental health problems Explaining depression Explaining addiction Treating depression and addiction Key studies and the nature–nurture debate

The Brain and Neuropsychology

Topic overview Lobes of the brain and the effects of damage Lateralisation and Sperry's split-brain study Neurons, synapses and the central nervous system Phineas Gage and how brain research has changed

Social Influence

Topic overview Conformity to majority influence Obedience to authority Bystander intervention Crowd behaviour, society and culture Piliavin's subway study and the Stanford prison study

Criminal PsychologyOptional topic

Topic overview Operant conditioning and social learning explanations of crime Eysenck's criminal personality theory Punishment, recidivism and rehabilitation Bandura's Bobo doll study and Charlton's St Helena study

The SelfOptional topic

Topic overview Self-concept and influences on self-esteem Erikson's identity stages and belief in free will Rogers' and Maslow's humanistic theory Measuring personality and trait theory Vohs and Schooler's cheating study and Van Houtte and Jarvis's pet study

PerceptionOptional topic

Topic overview Depth cues, visual illusions and constancies Gibson's direct theory and Gregory's constructivist theory Perceptual set The Haber and Levin and Carmichael studies

Sleep and DreamingOptional topic

Topic overview Sleep stages and the sleep cycle Influences on sleep and sleep disorders Freud's theory of dreaming and activation synthesis theory Freud's Little Hans and Siffre's cave study

Language, Thought and CommunicationOptional topic

Topic overview Piaget and Vygotsky on language and thought Linguistic relativism and determinism Human and animal communication Non-verbal communication and Darwin's evolutionary theory The Yuki and Boroditsky studies

Research Methods

Topic overview Variables, hypotheses and controls Sampling methods Experiments and experimental designs Interviews, questionnaires and types of data Correlations, case studies and observations Ethical issues in psychological research Evaluating studies and the core areas of psychology Averages, calculations and graphs

Research Methods

Variables, hypotheses and controls

3 things to know
Papers 1 and 2

Overview

Independent, dependent and extraneous variables, situational and participant variables, standardised procedures, counterbalancing, randomisation, single and double blind techniques, and null and alternative hypotheses.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What is an independent variable (IV)?

Key term

What is a dependent variable (DV)?

Key term

A researcher tests whether background music affects how many words people recall from a list. Identify the IV and the DV.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is an independent variable (IV)?
Model answer
The independent variable is the factor the researcher changes or manipulates between conditions. The IV is expected to cause a change in behaviour.
2
What is a dependent variable (DV)?
Model answer
The dependent variable is the factor the researcher measures in each condition. The DV shows whether the IV has had an effect.
3
A researcher tests whether background music affects how many words people recall from a list. Identify the IV and the DV.
Model answer
The IV is whether or not music is played. The DV is the number of words each participant recalls.
4
What is an extraneous variable?
Model answer
An extraneous variable is any variable other than the IV that might affect the DV. Uncontrolled extraneous variables can make results inaccurate.
5
What is a situational variable? Give an example.
Model answer
A situational variable is a feature of the research environment that could affect the DV. Examples include noise, lighting, temperature and time of day.
6
What is a participant variable? Give an example.
Model answer
A participant variable is a characteristic of the people taking part that could affect the DV. Examples include age, mood, intelligence and previous experience.

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Development

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Psychological Problems

The Brain and Neuropsychology

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Short-term memory can hold about 7 ± 2 items at once.

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