what is a confounding variable
A confounding variable is an extraneous variable that is related to your independent variable and might affect your dependent variable. In an ideal study, there will be no confounding variables. Let's look at another example of a confounding variable; let's say that whenever Josh is stressed out, he gets muscle cramps. He thinks that stress causes his muscle cramps. In this example, stress is the independent variable, and the muscle cramps are the dependent variable.