Dependent Variable - GCSE Psychology Definition

Reviewed by: Raj Bonsor

Published

A dependent variable is what you measure in an experiment to see if it changes due to what you do to the independent variable. Think of it as the "effect" in a cause-and-effect relationship.

In psychology experiments, the dependent variable is the behaviour or response that researchers are interested in observing. For example, if you are testing whether listening to music helps people study better, the dependent variable might be the test scores of the participants. It is called "dependent" because it depends on how the conditions of the experiment are set up.

Examiner-written GCSE Psychology revision resources that improve your grades 2x

  • Written by expert teachers and examiners
  • Aligned to exam specifications
  • Everything you need to know, and nothing you don’t
GCSE Psychology revision resources

Share this article

Raj Bonsor

Reviewer: Raj Bonsor

Expertise: Psychology & Sociology Content Creator

Raj joined Save My Exams in 2024 as a Senior Content Creator for Psychology & Sociology. Prior to this, she spent fifteen years in the classroom, teaching hundreds of GCSE and A Level students. She has experience as Subject Leader for Psychology and Sociology, and her favourite topics to teach are research methods (especially inferential statistics!) and attachment. She has also successfully taught a number of Level 3 subjects, including criminology, health & social care, and citizenship.

The examiner written revision resources that improve your grades 2x.

Join now