How do independent, dependent, and intervening variables differ?
Usually you will find independent and dependent variables linked, like when you are plotting points on a graph one is independent and one is dependent. The independent one is the one you choose. The points are determined by an equation and once you have chosen one point, you put it in the equation and solve to get the other one. That second one is dependent because its value is determined by whatever you picked first. Example: y = 2x + 5 independent-> x = 3 dependent-> y = 2(3) + 5 which means y = 11 An intervening variable comes into play when the independent/dependent variables are not linked by something as obvious as math. It refers to the factor that may affect the relationship between the independent and dependent variable. For example, when you are teaching a dog a trick, the independent variable is the number of times you try to teach him the trick. The dependent variable is how many times he messes up. The intervening variable is the “learning” that occurs and, in future tries
