Why do demand characteristics need to be controlled

One way is through the use of deception. Using deception may reduce the likelihood that participants are able to guess the hypothesis of the experiment, causing participants to act more naturally.

Experimenters can also conduct a manipulation check, in which they ask participants what they thought the true purpose of the study was. This allows experimenters to assess whether or not participants correctly guessed the hypothesis of the study. Page Site Advanced 7 of Disciplines : Communication and Media Studies , Sociology. Buy in print. Looks like you do not have access to this content. For example, when asked if they have ever stolen anything, participants may lie in order to avoid presenting themselves in a bad light, consequently leading to gathering inaccurate data.

Company Reg no: VAT reg no Main menu. Subjects Shop Courses Live Jobs board. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Example In Asch's conformity experiment , participants were told that they were taking part in a vision experiment.

Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Related Articles. Types of Variables Used in Psychology Research. What Is Emotional labor? How Does the Placebo Effect Work?

Understanding Internal and External Validity.