Research participants are brought into a lab and told that they are going to see a video of a woman shopping. They are told to remember as many features of the video as they can because this is a study of memory. In fact, though, the researcher is studying racial bias by observing their facial expressions while watching the video. What is the researcher trying to avoid by giving the cover story about memory?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The researcher is trying to avoid demand characteristics, which occur when participants form an interpretation of the experiment's purpose and subconsciously change their behavior to fit that interpretation. By providing a cover story, the researcher aims to prevent participants from guessing the true purpose of the study, which is to observe racial bias.

Research Participants Are Brought into a Lab and Told That