Independent and Dependent Variables

Independent Variable

• “what the experimenter does to the participants”

• varied by the experimenter (in experimental research)

• hypothesized cause of changes in the DV

• “subject” variables

• “predictor” variables

Dependent Variable

• “what the participants do back”

• the measured behavior of the participant

• hypothesized effect of changes in the IV

Previous slide

Next slide

Back to first slide

View graphic version