This Week's Citation Classic Orne M T. On the social psychology of the psychological experiment: with particular reference to demand characteristics and their implications. Amer. Psychol. 17:776-83, 1962. The paper analyzes the psychological experiment as a unique social interaction, emphasizing that subjects are active participants whose perception of the situation can significantly influence their behavior. The paper has been cited over 740 times since 1962. Martin T. Orne, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the challenges of studying human behavior in experiments. He argues that the experimental setting itself can alter behavior, and that subjects' awareness of the experiment's purpose can affect their responses. The paper was written in response to growing dissatisfaction with naive behavioral approaches and aimed to address how experimental settings influence behavior. Orne proposed methods to assess how being in an experiment affects subjects' behavior, which contributed to the paper's wide citation. He also emphasized the importance of viewing subjects as active, thinking individuals rather than passive responders. However, the paper has been misused to criticize all experimental research in psychology. Orne believes that psychological experiments involve two experiments: the one the researcher intends and the one the subject perceives. The validity of inferences depends on how closely these two experiments align. He also stresses the importance of conducting rigorous research on substantive issues to advance scientific progress. The 1962 paper was influenced by efforts to study hypnosis and ensure findings generalized beyond the laboratory. Orne continues to innovate in methodology to answer specific questions. He concludes that studying humans is complex due to their purposes and motives, but that experimental research remains essential for understanding human behavior.This Week's Citation Classic Orne M T. On the social psychology of the psychological experiment: with particular reference to demand characteristics and their implications. Amer. Psychol. 17:776-83, 1962. The paper analyzes the psychological experiment as a unique social interaction, emphasizing that subjects are active participants whose perception of the situation can significantly influence their behavior. The paper has been cited over 740 times since 1962. Martin T. Orne, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the challenges of studying human behavior in experiments. He argues that the experimental setting itself can alter behavior, and that subjects' awareness of the experiment's purpose can affect their responses. The paper was written in response to growing dissatisfaction with naive behavioral approaches and aimed to address how experimental settings influence behavior. Orne proposed methods to assess how being in an experiment affects subjects' behavior, which contributed to the paper's wide citation. He also emphasized the importance of viewing subjects as active, thinking individuals rather than passive responders. However, the paper has been misused to criticize all experimental research in psychology. Orne believes that psychological experiments involve two experiments: the one the researcher intends and the one the subject perceives. The validity of inferences depends on how closely these two experiments align. He also stresses the importance of conducting rigorous research on substantive issues to advance scientific progress. The 1962 paper was influenced by efforts to study hypnosis and ensure findings generalized beyond the laboratory. Orne continues to innovate in methodology to answer specific questions. He concludes that studying humans is complex due to their purposes and motives, but that experimental research remains essential for understanding human behavior.