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The observer-expectancy effect [a] is a form of reactivity in which a researcher's cognitive bias causes them to subconsciously influence the participants of an experiment. Confirmation bias can lead to the experimenter interpreting results incorrectly because of the tendency to look for information that conforms to their hypothesis, and ...
Observer-expectancy effect, a form of reactivity in which a researcher's cognitive bias causes them to unconsciously influence the participants of an experiment Observer bias , a detection bias in research studies resulting for example from an observer's cognitive biases
Observer-expectancy effect, when a researcher expects a given result and therefore unconsciously manipulates an experiment or misinterprets data in order to find it (see also subject-expectancy effect). Selective perception, the tendency for expectations to affect perception.
The observer-expectancy effect is when a researcher's expectations cause them to subconsciously influence the people participating in an experiment. It is usually controlled using a double-blind system , and was an important reason for the development of double-blind experiments.
Examples of observer bias extend back to the early 1900's. One of the first recorded events of apparent observer bias was seen in 1904, with the case of "Clever Hans". Clever Hans was a horse whose owner, Wilhem von Olson, claimed could solve arithmetic equations. Von Olson would ask Clever Hans a series of questions involving arithmetic ...
Inherent in conducting observational research is the risk of observer bias influencing your study's results. The main observer biases to be wary of are expectancy effects. When the observer has an expectation as to what they will observe, they are more likely to report that they saw what they expected. [7]
Reactivity can also occur in response to self-report measures if the measure is elicited from research participants during a task. For example, both confidence ratings and judgments of learning, which are often provided repeatedly throughout cognitive assessments of learning and reasoning, have been found to be reactive.
Familiar methodological examples of the capacity of observation and theorising to affect the object/phenomena of study include the "observer-expectancy effect" and long-running concerns among anthropologists and ethnographers over the possible effect of participant observation on the very people and behaviours being studied.