Experimental Design

The behavior being measured — the response or outcome that may change as a result of manipulating the independent variable.

The intervention or environmental condition that the experimenter systematically manipulates (e.g., the treatment).

A demonstrated cause-and-effect relationship in which systematic manipulation of the independent variable reliably produces a change in the dependent variable, with other variables controlled.

At least three demonstrations of the experimental effect at three different points in time (prediction, verification, and replication).

The expectation, based on a stable baseline, of what future behavior would be if conditions remained unchanged.

Demonstrating that the prior baseline prediction was accurate by showing behavior returns to baseline levels when the IV is removed — ruling out that change was coincidental.