Cover stories are most likely to be used to prevent which of the following?
A) Experimenter bias
B) Placebo effects
C) Confounding
D) Demand characteristics

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Cover stories are often used in psychological experiments to mislead participants about the true purpose of the study, thereby reducing demand characteristics. Demand characteristics refer to cues that participants pick up from the experiment that allow them to guess at the researcher's hypothesis, which can influence their behavior in the direction of the hypothesis. By using a cover story, researchers aim to minimize this influence, ensuring that participants' behavior is more natural and less influenced by their perceptions of what the study is about.

Cover Stories Are Most Likely to Be Used to Prevent