Demand characteristics
extraneous variable in social research
In social research, particularly in psychology, the term demand characteristic refers to an experimental artifact where participants form an interpretation of the experiment's purpose and subconsciously change their behavior to fit that interpretation. Typically, demand characteristics are considered an extraneous variable, exerting an effect on behavior other than that intended by the experimenter. Pioneering research was conducted on demand characteristics by Martin Orne.
A possible cause for demand characteristics is participants' expectations that they will somehow be evaluated, leading them to figure out a way to 'beat' the experiment to attain good scores in the alleged evaluation. Rather than giving an honest answer, participants may change some or all of their answers to match the experimenter's requirements, that demand characteristics can change participant's behaviour to appear more socially or morally responsible. Demand characteristics cannot be eliminated from experiments, but demand characteristics can be studied to see their effect on such experiments.
Examples of common demand characteristics
Common demand characteristics include:
Rumors of the study – any information, true or false, circulated about the experiment outside of the experiment itself.
Setting of the laboratory – the location where the experiment is being performed, if it is significant.
Explicit or implicit communication – any communication between the participant and experimenter, whether it be verbal or non-verbal, that may influence their perception of the experiment.
Weber and Cook have described some demand characteristics as involving the participant taking on a role in the experiment.
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