1.3 The Experimental Method AP Psychology Vocab

Experimental group

the group in an experiment that gets the treatment or change being tested to see how it affects them.

Control group

the group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment or change, done to compare results

Independent variable

what you change in an experiment to see how it affects something else

Dependent variable

what you measure or observe in an experiment to see how it is affected by te changes you made

Confounding variable

An extra factor that might affect the results of an experiment, making it hard to tell if the changes are due to the independent variable or something else

Double-blind study

Participants + researchers don’t know who is getting the treatment or a placebo. Keeps the results fair and unbiased

Placebo effect

when people feel better because they think they're getting better treatment, even if it's just fake

Random assignment

when people in an experiment are randomly put into different groups