Confusion abounds about confounds: response to Diana and Ranganath

We agree with Diana and Ranganath [1] that there is ‘confusion about confounds,’ so we begin with a brief explanation of what a confound is. The scientific method involves manipulating an independent variable across conditions while holding all other variables constant. If a dependent measure changes across conditions, then that change can be attributed to the independent variable. However, if the independent variable and a nuisance variable both differ across conditions, then a confound exists.

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