Characteristics are any aspects of an experimental research study that communicate to participants how the experimenter wants them to behave.

True. Characteristics are any aspects of an experimental research study that communicate to participants how the experimenter wants them to behave. This is known as a demand characteristic. Within psychology, studies have been done showing how people react and relate to how the experimenter wants them to, subconsciously. While studying this, it was found that people often change their behaviors to mimic what the experimenter would like to see.