1. Realism The aim of any study is to provide information about how people behave in ‘real-life.’ IF the set-up of the study is too artificial then the participants may not behave as they normally would (demand characteristics). Mundane realism – how an experiment mirrors the real world. Mundane = ordinary.

2. Generalisability The point of realism in psychological research is to be able to generalise the results beyond the particular unique research setting. In particular to be able to understand behaviour in everyday life. Lab study – difficult to generalise to real-life. Sample – all American students – difficult to generalise findings to other cultures/ages.

3. Demand Characteristics An aspect of the research situation which triggers a predictable response in participants causing them to respond in a similar way. Particular cues in an experimental situation may communicate to the participants what is expected of them and what the researcher hopes to find (may guess the aim). The outcome is that the results are biased in favour of research hypothesis, confirming the researcher’s initial beliefs.