Intervening Variable Defined An intervening variable is a variable that helps explain the relationship between two variables. But what does that really mean? An intervening variable is a hypothetical variable used to explain causal links between other variables . Intervening variables cannot be observed in an experiment (that’s why they are hypothetical). For example, there is an association between being poor and having a shorter life span. Just because someone is poor doesn’t mean that will lead to an early death, so other hypothetical variables are used to explain the phenomenon. These intervening variables could include: lack of access to healthcare or poor nutrition. In psychology, the intervening variable is sometimes called a mediator variable . In statistics, an intervening variable is usually considered to be a sub-type of mediating variable. However, the lines between the two terms are somewhat fuzzy, and they are often ...
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