A researcher was observing consumers' facial expressions as they looked over the menu at a restaurant. One consumer forgot her reading glasses, so she was having trouble reading the menu and had to squint her eyes, causing her to look mad. The researcher interpreted this to mean she didn't like what she was seeing on the menu because he didn't know she couldn't see the words. The researcher's misreading the consumer's facial expression as dissatisfaction is an example of _____.
A) response latency
B) contrived observation
C) response bias
D) observer bias

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of observer bias, which occurs when the observer's expectations or beliefs affect their interpretation of the data they are collecting. In this case, the researcher assumed that the consumer's facial expression indicated dissatisfaction with the menu when in fact it was caused by a different factor (not having her reading glasses).

A Researcher Was Observing Consumers' Facial Expressions as They Looked