16. Demand Characteristics & Investigator Effects

Question 1

How do Participants act when being observed

Answer 1

• P’s sometimes act differently when theyre being observed.
• Human P’s will usually be aware that they are being studied. This may mean they dont show their true response, & so their data may not be valid or reliable.
• Some of these effects are: The Hawthorne Effect, Demand Characteristics, Social Desirability Bias.

Question 2

What is The Hawthorne Effect

Answer 2

• If ppl are interested in smth & in the attention they are getting (eg. from researchers), then they show a more positive response & try harder in tasks.
• This means their results for tests are often artificially high (bc theyre trying harder than normal), which could make a researcher’s conclusions invalid.
• The opposite effect may occur if the P’s are uninterested in the task.

Question 3

What are Demand Characteristics

Answer 3

• These are aspects of a study which allows the P’s to form an idea abt its purpose. If they think they know what kind of response the researcher is expecting from them, they may show that response to ‘please’ the researcher (or they may deliberately do the opposite).
• Either way, the conclusions drawn from the study would be invalid.

Question 4

What is Social Desirability Bias

Answer 4

• Ppl usually try to show themselves in the best possible light. So in a survey, they may not be completely truthful, but give answers that are more socially acceptable instead (eg. ppl may say they give more money to charity than they rlly do).
• This would make the results less valid

Question 5

Who can also affect the outcomes in undesirable ways (except P’s)

Answer 5

• The reliability & validity of results may also be influenced by the researcher, since he or she has expectations abt what will happen.
• This can produce the following effects: Researcher (or Experimenter) Bias, Investigator Effects.

Question 6

What is Researcher (or Experimenter) Bias

Answer 6

• The researchers’ expectations can influence how they design their study & how they behave towards the P’s.
• ALSO, their expectations may influence how they take measurements & analyse their data, resulting in error that can lead, for eg, to accepting a hypothesis that was actually false.
• Their expectations may also lead them to only ask questions abt what they are interested in, & they may focus on the aspects of the P’s answers which fit their expectations.

Question 7

What are Investigator Effects

Answer 7

• These can be anything that the researcher does which can affect how the P behaves.
• If a researcher’s expectations influence how they behave towards their P’s, the P’s might respond to demand characteristics.
• ALSO, a researcher’s expectations could result in them asking leading questions.
• FINALLY, the P may react to the behaviour or appearance of an investigator & answer differently.