Social Variables Anna participates in a social psychological experiment in which she observes pairs of lights that are briefly turned on and off in a completely darkened room.Although the distance between each pair of lights in the Hex paradigm is always identical, the experimenter asks, "Is the first pair of lights farther apart or closer together than the second pair?" This question, which implies that Anna should perceive different spacing, illustrates the concept of a
A)demand characteristic.
B)physical variable.
C)placebo effect.
D)Rosenthal effect.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A demand characteristic is a cue or belief that leads participants to behave in a certain way, which may influence their responses in an experiment. In this case, the experimenter's question implies that the pairs of lights should appear to have different spacing, which is a demand characteristic that could influence Anna's perception. The other choices (physical variable, placebo effect, and Rosenthal effect) do not accurately describe the situation.

Social Variables Anna Participates in a Social Psychological Experiment in Which