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Psychology vocabulary · Research Methods and Statistics

Dependent variable

Meaning in psychology, with examples

nounCore term

In psychology, dependent variable means: The outcome that a researcher measures in a study to see whether it is affected by changes in the independent variable.

In Turkish: bağımlı değişken

How it is used

Shortened to DV. Typical dependent variables in psychology are reaction times, accuracy, questionnaire scores and symptom ratings. In regression and clinical trials people also say outcome variable or outcome measure.

Example sentences

  1. Reaction time was the main dependent variable in both experiments.

  2. Choose a dependent variable that you can measure reliably.

Common collocations

  • measure the dependent variable
  • dependent variable (DV)
  • outcome variable
  • independent variableThe factor that a researcher deliberately changes or compares in a study to see whether it causes changes in another variable.
  • experimentA study in which the researcher deliberately changes one factor and measures the effect on another, while keeping other conditions as constant as possible.
  • reliabilityHow consistent a measure is: a reliable test gives similar results when it is repeated, when different raters score it, or across its items.
  • effect sizeA number that shows how large a difference or relationship is, independent of sample size, such as Cohen's d or a correlation coefficient.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Research Methods and Statistics

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