AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Example of a confounding variable You collect data on sunburns and ice cream consumption. You find that higher ice cream consumption is associated with a higher probability of sunburn. Does that mean ice cream consumption causes sunburn?

Detailed explanation-2: -A confounding variable in statistics is something that potentially affects the outcome of an experiment or study but is not accounted for in the study itself. Many things, including time of day, gender, temperature, weather, age, even the color and decor of a room could be confounding variables.

Detailed explanation-3: -Example: Situational variable To perform your experiment, you use the lab rooms on campus. They are only available either early in the morning or late in the day. Because time of day may affect test performance, it’s an extraneous variable.

Detailed explanation-4: -Identifying Confounding A simple, direct way to determine whether a given risk factor caused confounding is to compare the estimated measure of association before and after adjusting for confounding. In other words, compute the measure of association both before and after adjusting for a potential confounding factor.