A researcher desires to study the relationship between stress and an employee's ability to perform at work. However, he finds that there is no direct relationship between the two. He also notices that presence of a supervisor in the environment is establishing a relationship between stress and employee's ability to perform. In this context, supervisor's presence is acting as a _____ variable.

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A confounding variable is a variable that influences both the dependent variable and independent variable, causing a spurious association between the two. In this case, the presence of a supervisor is a confounding variable because it is affecting the relationship between stress and employee performance, making it difficult to assess the true relationship between stress and performance.

A Researcher Desires to Study the Relationship Between Stress and an Employee's