intervening variable
nounA hidden thing in the middle that changes how two other things affect each other.
In the study, stress was an intervening variable that explained why lack of sleep led to poorer test scores.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. In statistics, a variable that explains or transmits the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable.
The researchers tested whether motivation acted as an intervening variable between feedback and performance.
3. In psychology, an internal state inferred to connect a stimulus with a response.
Hunger was treated as an intervening variable linking food deprivation to eating behavior.
4. Any factor that comes between a cause and its observed outcome and helps account for the relationship.
Access to books was an intervening variable in the link between family income and reading ability.