Questions and Answers
What is a demand characteristic?
It is when a participant in a study forms an interpretation of the purpose of an experiment and subconsciously changes their behavior to fit that behavior.
How does the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle relate to behavior observation?
When you start to look at an electron, it changes course, similar to how observing a behavior affects it.
What is the Hawthorne Effect?
Observing a phenomenon changes what you purport to observe.
What is reactivity in the context of behavioral studies?
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What is social desirability in research?
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What are environmental cues?
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What are experimenter expectations?
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How does habituation control for demand characteristics?
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How do blind/double procedures control for demand characteristics?
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How do neutral cues control for demand characteristics?
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What is experimental realism?
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What is deception in psychological experiments?
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What are some famous deception studies?
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What are unobtrusive measures in research?
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What is a distractor task in experimental settings?
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What is a placebo?
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What do experimenters do to prevent participants from informing others about the study's real purpose?
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List three alternatives to deceptive methods in research.
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Why is deception used less frequently now in psychological research?
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Which psychological experiment had a profound effect on ethical procedures?
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What is the name of the committee that reviews the ethics of research proposed on college campuses?
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Who are the members of a Human Subjects Research Review Committee?
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What type of analysis is used to determine if experiments should be performed?
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Study Notes
Demand Characteristics
- Demand characteristics refer to participants changing their behavior based on their interpretation of a study's purpose.
- This phenomenon is similar to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, where observation influences behavior.
Effects of Observation
- The Hawthorne Effect highlights how observing individuals alters their behavior.
- Reactivity occurs when participants modify responses due to awareness of being watched.
Social Influences
- Social desirability bias leads individuals to provide responses that are considered socially acceptable, conforming to perceived norms.
- Environmental cues in laboratory settings can misdirect participants, influencing behavior as lab environments differ from real-world experiences.
Experimenter Influence
- Experimenter expectations can provide implicit cues that influence participants’ responses, with subjects attempting to meet these expectations.
Control Methods
- Habituation helps reduce demand characteristics by allowing participants to acclimate to experimental settings.
- Blind and double-blind procedures ensure that participants and experimenters are unaware of the study's hypothesis, minimizing bias.
- Using neutral cues, such as displaying instructions on a computer, helps to eliminate human factors that could affect the results.
Engagement and Deception
- Experimental realism engages participants sufficiently to minimize awareness of demand characteristics.
- Deception involves misleading participants about the true focus of a study to prevent bias, commonly used in social and motivational research.
- Notable deception studies include Milgram's obedience study and Asch's conformity study.
Research Methodology
- Unobtrusive measures, like a two-way mirror, allow for observation without participants being aware they are being monitored.
- Distractor tasks, such as solving puzzles, can mask the true purpose of a study, allowing participants to focus on simpler tasks.
Placebos and Ethics
- Placebos are treatments with no therapeutic effect, impacting psychological factors rather than physical ones.
- Ethical considerations in research require experimenters to ask participants not to divulge study details, conduct studies rapidly, and recruit from diverse locations to mitigate bias.
Ethical Alternatives to Deception
- Alternatives to deceptive methods include role-playing, simulation studies, and honest experiments where participants are aware of the study's aims.
Evolving Ethical Standards
- Deception is less common today due to the rise of cognitive psychology, greater ethical awareness, and the existence of ethics review boards for study oversight.
- Milgram's obedience studies significantly influenced the establishment of ethical guidelines in psychological research.
Institutional Review Boards
- The Internal Review Board, also known as the Human Subjects Research Review Committee, is responsible for evaluating the ethical aspects of proposed research.
Committee Composition
- Members of the board include a diverse group, such as a clergyman, lawyer, doctor, nurse, and professor, ensuring a broad perspective on ethical issues.
Risk Benefit Analysis
- Risk benefit analysis is employed to decide whether experiments should proceed, weighing potential risks against anticipated benefits.
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Description
Explore the concepts of demand characteristics and deception in psychological research with these flashcards. Learn how participant behavior can be influenced and how this relates to principles like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. A great resource for psychology students and enthusiasts.
