Reactivity in Social Scientific experiments: What is it and how is it different (and worse) than a Placebo effect?

European Journal of Philosophy of Science 11 (2): 1-22 (2021)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Reactivity, or the phenomenon by which subjects tend to modify their behavior in virtue of their being studied upon, is often cited as one of the most important difficulties involved in social scientific experiments, and yet, there is to date a persistent conceptual muddle when dealing with the many dimensions of reactivity. This paper offers a conceptual framework for reactivity that draws on an interventionist approach to causality. The framework allows us to offer an unambiguous definition of reactivity and distinguishes it from placebo effects. Further, it allows us to distinguish between benign and malignant forms of the phenomenon, depending on whether reactivity constitutes a danger to the validity of the causal inferences drawn from experimental data.

Author's Profile

Maria Jimenez-Buedo
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia

Analytics

Added to PP
2021-01-28

Downloads
350 (#60,236)

6 months
136 (#38,928)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?