No Evidence of Experimenter Demand Effects in Three Online Psychology Experiments
Authors: L Woodley, X Roberts-Gaal, R Calcott, F Cushman
Published: 2025
Publication: files.osf.io
Explicit demand cues do not alter participant behavior, judgments, or attitudes in online psychology experiments, despite participants adjusting their beliefs about study hypotheses.
Methods: Three preregistered experiments on Prolific tested the impact of explicit demand cues on participant behavior using a dictator game, a moral dilemma vignette, and a group attitude intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to receive information about the study hypothesis or no information.
Key Findings: Whether explicit demand cues influence behavior, judgments, or attitudes in online psychology studies.
Limitations: Findings may not generalize to in-person samples or paradigms beyond those tested; effects could vary with different operationalizations of demand cues or participant populations.
Institution: Harvard University
Research Area: Experimental Psychology, Research Methods, Replication Studies
Discipline: Psychology,Social Science
Sample Size: 2254 participants