When an experimenter's expectations about a behavior influence the results of his experiment, it is called a
a.placebo effect
b.self-fulfilling prophecy
c.single-blind experiment
d.double-blind experiment
D, double blind experiment. This is why you need both the experimenter and experiment to be unaware of the situations outcome.
No. A double blind experiment avoids experimenter bias.
The correct answer is b. self-fulfilling prophecy.
A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when an experimenter's expectations about a behavior influence the results of their experiment. It is a situation where the experimenter's beliefs or biases end up shaping the outcome they were predicting.
To arrive at this answer, we can go through the options and eliminate the incorrect ones:
a. Placebo effect: The placebo effect refers to the phenomenon where a person's belief in a treatment or intervention leads to improvements, even if the treatment itself has no therapeutic effect. This is not directly related to an experimenter's expectations influencing the results of the experiment, so it is not the correct answer.
c. Single-blind experiment: In a single-blind experiment, the participants are unaware of which treatment or condition they are receiving. This is done to minimize potential bias or placebo effects from the participants. However, it does not involve the experimenter's expectations, so it is not the correct answer.
d. Double-blind experiment: In a double-blind experiment, both the participants and the experimenter are unaware of which treatment or condition is being administered. This is done to minimize bias from both parties. Although blinding can help reduce the influence of an experimenter's expectations, it is not specifically the term used to describe this situation, so it is not the correct answer.
The only remaining option is b. self-fulfilling prophecy, which accurately describes the situation where an experimenter's expectations about a behavior end up influencing the results of their experiment.