A confounding variable is an extraneous variable that influences both the independent and dependent variables in a study. It is a variable that is not the variable of interest but can influence the outcome, leading to inaccurate conclusions about the relationship being studied. Confounding variables can be correlated with the independent variable, and causally related to the dependent variable. They can also be related to a studys independent and dependent variables. Confounding variables are a type of extraneous variable that can affect both the independent and dependent variables, and can influence the dependent variable directly.
Confounding variables are a threat to internal validity, and can ruin an experiment and give useless results. They can cause two major problems: (1) they can obscure the true relationship between the independent and dependent variables, and (2) they can create a false relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Therefore, it is important to identify all possible confounding variables in a study, and consider whether those variables might influence the outcome of the study.
