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The good-subject effect: investigating participant demand characteristics
Austin Lee Nichols1, Jon K Maner
1Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-2250, USA. austinln@ufl.edu
The Journal of General Psychology
|May 30, 2008
Summary
Participant demand significantly influences study behavior, with individuals often confirming hypotheses. This tendency is moderated by individual differences and attitudes toward the experiment, highlighting the need for careful study design.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Research Methodology
Background:
- Participant demand, a known research concern, has been under-examined regarding its direct impact on participant behavior.
- Understanding participant responses influenced by perceived hypotheses is crucial for research validity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the direct effects of participant demand on participant behavior in a controlled laboratory setting.
- To explore how individual differences and attitudes moderate the influence of demand on responses.
Main Methods:
- A confederate informed 100 participants about the study's hypothesis before they completed a laboratory task.
- Behavioral responses were analyzed to assess confirmation or disconfirmation of the purported hypothesis.
Main Results:
- Participants generally exhibited behavior that confirmed the study's hypothesis.
- The tendency to confirm hypotheses was influenced by participants' attitudes toward the experiment and experimenter, as well as other individual differences.
- Suspicion probes appeared ineffective in accurately measuring participants' prior knowledge or suspicion levels.
Conclusions:
- Participant demand can significantly shape behavior, leading to hypothesis-confirming responses.
- Individual differences and attitudes play a critical role in mediating the effects of demand.
- Current methods like suspicion probes may not reliably detect participant awareness of hypotheses, necessitating further research into effective measurement and study design strategies.
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