Hypothesis, Independent And Ident Variables Of The Experiment

Over the years, whenever a psychologist is undertaking an experiment, their goal is to discover and to experiment what the hypothesis, independent and dependent variables are of the experiment. Throughout this essay, I will be explaining what each of these terms mean and looking into an experiment and outlining what the hypothesis, independent and dependent variables are.

The definition from the Oxford Dictionary states that the meaning of the word “hypothesis” is “A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation”. In simple terms it is a possible theory. It is something that cannot be explained and cannot be classed as a theory as it has not been tested or experimented on yet. From this possible theory, psychologists begin their experimenting on whatever they are studying and are able to test on to discover what the variables of the experiment are. There are different kinds of hypotheses, for example, a working hypothesis which is the beginning of more research, in other words, it is a work in progress. Psychologists have surpassed the beginning stage and can now do further experimenting on higher levels. There is however a difference between a hypothesis and a theory. A hypothesis is in place so that psychologists can ask questions, make guesses and experiment for different variables. A theory, however, is the explanation of an experiment. You can state an experiment as a theory once you have an answer and can continue no longer with experimentations.

However, a hypothesis cannot function without its independent and dependent variables. They are both parts of an experiment that are in place to be measured and experimented with. Many variables exist, fo...

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...his experiment, the colour red was a good thing, but in other situations, the colour red is seen to be the colour of warning. Overall, the dependent variable of this specific experiment would be the same woman being constant in all of the photos shown. The independent variables were the changes of the colours of the woman's top and of the photo frames but also, they experimented with woman in the same experiment.

After looking not just at this study, but even studies that have been carried out years ago, it has shown that every experiment needs a hypothesis along with it's independent and dependent variables. They play a crucial part within experiments. They help control, measure and keep the experiment organised and structured. Without these, in my opinion, psychologists would not be able to take note of their results, or experimenting or achievements effectively.