Question

A psychologist is interested in looking at the effectiveness of a new computer program in helping students learn math. She decides to test this new program with a group of middle school students. At this particular school, the boys and girls tend to be disruptive when they are in the same classroom, so she decides to run them separately in the experiment. She creates a group of boys who use the computer program four times per week. She creates a group of girls who do not use the computer program to serve as a comparison group. This experimental design is flawed because gender is a(n)/28722273/exp-psych-ch-5-review-flash-cards/

Answer 1

Answer: confounding variable

Explanation:

A confounding variable is an overlooked variable that has an impact on the dependent variable. It´s an extra independent variable that has a hidden effect on the dependent variable, causing an increase in variance and introducing bias.

In this case, the psychologist didn´t consider the effect gender had on the results, which lowered the internal validity of the study.