Cited by 615Psychology of Social InfluenceDeception detection and forensic psychologyPsychological Testing and Assessment

The good-subject effect: investigating participant demand characteristics

Nichols, Austin Lee, Maner, Jon K.·2008·The Journal of General Psychology

Abstract

Although researchers are often concerned with the presence of participant demand, few have directly examined effects of demand on participant behavior. Before beginning the present study, a confederate informed participants (N = 100) of the study's purported hypothesis. Participants then performed a laboratory task designed to evaluate the extent to which they would respond in ways that may confirm or disconfirm the hypothesis of the study. The authors found that participants tended to respond in ways that confirmed the hypothesis, yet this tendency depended on attitudes toward the experiment or experimenter and other individual differences. In addition, results suggested that suspicion probes may be ineffective in measuring participants' previous knowledge and suspicion. Findings indicate the need for more research and consideration of demand in the design of studies and analysis of data.

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Crossref · 10.3200/genp.135.2.151-166

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Authors
Nichols, A. L., & Maner, J. K.
Affiliations
  • University of Florida (US)
  • Florida State University (US)
Venue
The Journal of General Psychology
Published
2008-04
Volume
135
Issue
2
Pages
151-166
ISSN
  • 0022-1309 (ISSN-L)
  • 1940-0888
OpenAlex
W1982044027
Cited by
615
References
20
Citations by year
2026: 42 · 2025: 58 · 2024: 60 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 74 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 39 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 11
FWCI
11.53
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Journal of General Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Psychology of Social Influence
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Deception detection and forensic psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
Keywords
demand characteristics, participant behavior, hypothesis confirmation, individual differences, participant knowledge
MeSH terms
Attitude, Cooperative Behavior, Helping Behavior, Humans, Individuality, Models, Psychological, Research Design, Research Subjects, Researcher-Subject Relations

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