Demand characteristics

Demand characteristics are like when somebody asks you a question and you try to give the answer that you think they want or expect from you, even if it's not exactly what you believe or know to be true.

Imagine your teacher asks you, "Do you understand the lesson?" You might say yes, even if you don't really understand it, because you don't want to look dumb or disappoint your teacher.

Similarly, in scientific experiments, participants may behave in certain ways or provide certain responses because they feel like they are supposed to, based on what they think the experimenter is looking for or trying to prove. This is known as demand characteristics because the participants are "demanding" to meet the expectations they perceive.

This can be a problem in research because it can lead to inaccurate results or bias. Scientists want to know what participants actually think, feel, or do, rather than what they think the researcher wants them to think, feel, or do. To avoid demand characteristics, researchers may use strategies like double-blind design (where neither the participant nor the experimenter knows which group the participant is in) or minimizing explicit expectations and instructions for participants.