Demand characteristics refer to cues participants in a research study might pick up on, consciously or unconsciously, that could influence their behavior. These cues can come from the researcher, the research setting, or the research materials used in the study. Avoiding demand characteristics is important because it helps to ensure that the results of a study are valid and reliable.
There are a number of ways to avoid demand characteristics in research studies. One way is to use blind procedures. In a blind procedure, the participants do not know which condition they are in. For example, in a study comparing the effectiveness of two different teaching methods, the participants could be randomly assigned to one of the two methods without being told which method they are in. This would help to ensure that the participants’ behavior is not influenced by their knowledge of which condition they are in.
