Holding extraneous variables constant as a means of controlling their effects may have the undesirable side effect of
A) limiting the internal validity of the experiment by creating treatment confounds.
B) increasing the complexity of the experiment.
C) creating order effects that then have to be controlled.
D) limiting the generalizability of the conclusions that one can draw from the experiment.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Holding extraneous variables constant may limit the generalizability of conclusions because the results may only apply to the specific conditions of the experiment and not to other contexts where the extraneous variables are not controlled. This is a potential limitation of using experimental designs that rely on controlling extraneous variables.

Holding Extraneous Variables Constant as a Means of Controlling Their