Extraneous Variables - RM

Question 1

Participant variables

Answer 1

Individual characteristics that can effect results. e.g age, intelligence, motivation or past experiences.

Question 2

What controls PVs?

Answer 2

Random allocation which allows a same chance of allocation to the conditions.

Question 3

Situational Variables

Answer 3

Features of the research situation that might influence participants behaviour. e.g time of day, temperature and noise levels.

Question 4

What controls SVs?

Answer 4

Standardised procedures control SVs as they use formalised procedures for all the participants.

Question 5

SV = Order effects

Answer 5

When participants are tested more than once, this can lead to better or worse performance due to practice or fatigue.

Question 6

What controls order effects?

Answer 6

• Randomisation is the use of chance when designing investigations to control the effects of bias.
• Counterbalancing to control the impact of order effects in a repeated measures design.

Question 7

SV = Investigator Effects

Answer 7

Any effect of the investigator’s behaviour that will impact the research outcome, this can be conscious or unconscious.

Question 8

What controls investigator effects?

Answer 8

Double blind procedure as its where neither the participant nor researcher know the aims of the study, therefore having no expectations which could effect the study.

Question 9

SV = Demand characteristics

Answer 9

Any cues from the researcher or research situation that may reveal the aim of the study which may change the participants behaviour.

Question 10

What controls demand characteristics?

Answer 10

• Single blind procedures as the participant is unaware of the aims of the study therefore they cannot change their behaviour accordingly.
• Double blind procedure as its where neither the participant nor researcher know the aims of the study, therefore researcher cannot give cues as well as the research situation.

Question 11

Participant reactivity

Answer 11

Participant actively seeks clues about how to behave and then respond accordingly.

Question 12

What controls participant reactivity?

Answer 12

Single blind procedures as the participant is unaware of the aims of the study therefore they cannot change their behaviour accordingly.

Question 13

Social desirability

Answer 13

A tendency for respondents to answer questions in such a way that makes them look better rather than portray their natural behaviour.

Question 14

Screw U/Please U effect

Answer 14

Participants deliberately under perform or over perform to discern the experiments hypothesis.