Extraneous Variable
Extraneous variables are variables other than the independent variable that may bear any effect on the behavior of the subject being studied. This only affects the people in the experiment, not the place the experiment is taking place in. Some examples are gender, ethnicity, social class, genetics, intelligence, age.
A variable is extraneous only when it can be assumed to influence the dependent variable. It introduces noise but doesn't systematically bias the results.
Read more about Extraneous Variable: Classification, Types
Famous quotes containing the words extraneous and/or variable:
“In contrast to the flux and muddle of life, art is clarity and enduring presence. In the stream of life, few things are perceived clearly because few things stay put. Every mood or emotion is mixed or diluted by contrary and extraneous elements. The clarity of art—the precise evocation of mood in the novel, or of summer twilight in a painting—is like waking to a bright landscape after a long fitful slumber, or the fragrance of chicken soup after a week of head cold.”
—Yi-Fu Tuan (b. 1930)
“There is not so variable a thing in nature as a lady’s head-dress.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)