Study of the day

Responding to leaders

(Butler & Geis, 1990)

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Responding to Leaders (Butler & Geis, 1990)

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Responding to Leaders (Butler & Geis, 1990)

Experimenters Confederates Subjects

Lab Review

– How could the stimuli from the curly/straight study be improved?• Other variations (e.g. wavy?)• Stimulus sampling

Running Experiments

Learning Objectives

You will learn to:– Create a consent form– Cover stories– Writing an experimenter script– Create a debriefing form– Create a logsheet– Random assignment (quick overview)– Run subjects professionally

Creating a consent form

Consent form*Contact informationResearcher’s statement – about the formPurposeProceduresRisks – privacyBenefitsOther information – voluntary, anonymousSignatures

Example consent form*

http://www.wesleyan.edu/acaf/support/reviewboard.html

Cover story

When subjects can’t know the purpose of the study

- Eliminates speculation regarding what the study is actually about

- Make sure they act “naturally”- Reduce experimental demand-> Simple and plausible cover stories are best

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Responding to Leaders (Butler & Geis, 1990)

Example cover story

Butler & Geis (1990)

Cover story: “Decision making in business”Each group had to decide what items they

would most want after a plane crash

Actual experiment: Confederate leads group -> non-verbal reactions coded

Example cover story

Bystander intervention:

Cover story: Filling out questionnaires

Actual experiment: Smoke starts appearing from the vent

Creating an experimenter script

Experimenter script*

Greet subjectsAsk them to sign the consent formExplain to them what they will do in the

study

Example script*“Thanks for coming in today. Today’s study will be done on the

computer. Please turn off cell phones or other devices that may disturb the study.”

Ask the subjects to sit at one of the computers. Consent form: “Please read, sign, and date the consent form and hand

it back to me. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.”

Intro to study: “The first part of today’s study will be done in online classrooms on this computer. The first few minutes will be spent having you learn how to move around in these classrooms, and then we will move onto the study.” …

Creating a debriefing script

Debriefing form

Thank the subjects for participatingTell the subjects the purpose of the studyAsk if they have questionsDirect them to further readings on the

topicDepending on amount of deception

involved, might probe for suspicion

Example debriefing form

Creating a logsheet

Logsheet

Organizes the study:1.Keep track of how many subjects are

run2.Assign subjects to condition (random

assignment)3.Keep track of experimenter, date, time4.Place to write notes

File > New

Add columns across the top: subjno, condition date, time, notes (and any other extra variables you need)

Use random number generator

Using Excel to make a logsheet*

Example logsheet

Running subjects

Experimenter effects

Wear plain clothing

Wearing a t-shirt that says “eracism” shifts women’s race attitudes to be more egalitarian

(Sinclair, Lowery, & Hardin, 2005)

Experimenter effects

Consider potential experimenter confounds:Race

Presence of a Black experimenter reduces Whites’ automatic prejudices against Blacks

(Lowery, Sinclair, & Hardin, 2001)

Experimenter effects

Gender

Male subjects report lower pain levels to female experimenters than to male experimenters (Levine & Simone, 1991)

Experimenter effectsTone

Subjects modify their attitudes to the “nice experimenter” more than to the rude experimenter

(Sinclair, Lowery, & Hardin, 2001)

“I really appreciate your participation and wanted to give you something extra, so I brought some candy for you.”

vs.“Some of the experimenters in my lab like to give subjects candy for their

participation, but I think you are lucky just to get credit.”

Minimizing experimenter effects

Minimal contact between experimenter and subjects

Standardize procedures (script helps)Use professionalismConduct double-blind studies when

possibleCheck for race and gender effects

Remember to Check for Suspicion

Simple open-ended probe asks participants what the think was the purpose of the

study.

Congratulations!

You have learned how to– Create a consent form– Create a cover story– Create a debriefing form– Write an experimenter script– Create a logsheet in Excel– Run subjects professionally

Study Resources

How do you generate random numbers?•In excel •Using a website:

http://www.random.org/integers/

Random Assignment*