Rosenthal effect

the situation in which an investigator’s expectations about the outcome of a given study unwittingly affect the actual study outcome. A researcher may use blinds to prevent the Rosenthal effect from occurring and biasing study results. This term is often used synonymously with experimenter expectancy effect and self-fulfilling prophecy. See also demand characteristics. [Robert Rosenthal (1933– ), U.S. psychologist]

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

February 21st 2025

adaptive testing

a testing technique designed to adjust to the response characteristics of individual examinees by presenting items of varying difficulty based on the examinee’s responses to previous items. The process continues until a stable estimate of the ability level of the examinee can be determined. See also item response theory.