Variable - Psychology Definition of the Week

Definition: A variable is any characteristic or value that can be changed or manipulated. In psychology experiments, researchers utilize variables to determine if making changes to one thing can result in changes to something else. For example, researchers might look at whether the amount of sleep students get the night before an exam impacts their performance on the test. In this example, the amount of sleep and performance on the test are the two variables of interest. Learn more in this overview of variables.

Related Reading

• Introduction to Psychology Research Methods
• The Scientific Method

_{Image courtesy Piotr Bizior}