Define demand characteristics.

• A. Demand characteristics are cues in an experiment that influence participants to guess the hypothesis and alter their behavior accordingly.
• B. Demand characteristics are precise measurements of anxiety in participants.
• C. Demand characteristics refer to the natural variations in demand for a product in market research.
• D. Demand characteristics are guidelines for balancing sample sizes.

Answer: (A)

Demand characteristics are cues in an experiment—such as the researcher's expectations, the way the task is set up, or how questions are asked—that lead participants to guess what the study is about and to change their behavior to fit those guesses. This can cause them to act in ways they think the experimenter wants, rather than responding truthfully to the experimental conditions. For example, if participants sense that the study expects them to perform better, they may try harder, inflating the apparent effect. Because of this, the data may reflect participants’ interpretations of the study rather than the true relationship between the variables, compromising internal validity. They’re not about measuring anxiety, market demand, or guidelines for sample sizes, which are unrelated concepts in this context.