Influence of subject and experimenter sex in psychological research.

Reports that a survey of recent volumes of 2 american psychological association journals indicates that psychologists frequently neglect sex of e and s in designing, analyzing, and reporting studies. Close examination of the influence of sex in the areas of schizophrenia, psychological testing, and sexual attitudes and behaviors suggested that sex of e and s can influence results of research. This variable should be explicitly considered when designing experiments, and neglected only when its contribution can be ruled out empirically. Appropriate controls include use of both male and female ss and a broad sampling of a male and female e population to insure generality of results. (35 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Five attempts to replicate the experimenter bias effect.

5 investigations, involving 501 undergraduate Ss and 51 undergraduate Es were conducted to cross-validate a study by R. Rosenthal and K. Fode (see 38:3) which demonstrated the E bias effect (EBE). Each of the 5 studies failed to demonstrate that Es' expectancy-biases influence their results (overall F     

Neural mechanism of pupillary dilation elicited by electro-acupuncture stimulation in anesthetized rats

The neural mechanisms to reflex dilation elicited by electro-acupuncture stimulation were investigated in anesthetized rats. Two needles, with 160 microns diameter and about 5 mm apart, were inserted into the skin and underlying muscle of a hindpaw. Repetitive 20 Hz, 0.5 ms electrical pulses at various intensities were used for stimulation for 30s. The pupil size was magnified about 44 times via a microscope and was continuously recorded on a videotape. Electro-acupuncture stimulation at more than 0.5 up to 6 mA induced stimulus intensity-dependent pupil dilation. These responses were abolished by the severance of the sciatic and saphenous nerve of the stimulated hindlimb. Compound action potentials were recorded from the distal cut end of the tibial of a saphenous nerve following electro-acupuncture stimulation of the hindpaw. The mean threshold of the compound action potentials of the myelinated fibers in saphenous nerves was 0.18 mA, while that of unmyelinated fibers was 3.0 mA. The mean threshold of the compound action potentials of the myelinated fibers in the tibial nerve was 0.20 mA of unmyelinated fibers was 3.3 mA. Severance of bilateral trunks did not affect the response, while severance of the third cranial nerves abolished the responses. In conclusion, electro-acupuncture stimulation applied to the hindpaws of the anesthetized rats induced excitation of myelinated or of both myelinated and unmyelinated afferent fibers of the tibial and saphenous nerve, and involved a reflex response of pupil dilation through the third cranial parasympathetic efferent nerve.     

Reflections on replications and the experimenter bias effect.

The value of replications in psychology, the need to distinguish between the probability of data and of hypotheses, and the implications of alternative conceptualizations of the experimenter bias effect (EBE), are discussed in the light of the failure reported by T. X. Barber, et al. (see 43:6) to replicate earlier findings by R. Rosenthal and K. Fode (see 38:3). The position was taken that the value of further research on the EBE will depend upon the prior development of a situational taxonomy and a theoretical formulation in which the effect may be conceptualized in terms of a broader class of phenomena. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interfacing the experimenter to the computer: Languages for psychologists.

Examines and compares the software (computer languages) that behavioral scientists are most likely to purchase: SCAT, INTERACT, SKED, OS/8 FORTRAN IV, RT11/FORTRAN, RSX-11M, Data General's Real-Time, Disk Operating System and its FORTRAN, and interpretative languages (e.g., BASIC). Issues related to mechanical features, ease of use in programming, and support services are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of feedback from the experimenter on conformity behavior.

The first experiment dealt with the importance of continuous feedback from the experimenter as a factor in conformity behavior as contrasted with discontinued feedback. Discontinued feedback was shown to be less effective but only when the feedback reinforced independence. The second experiment tested the generality of the previous finding that feedback in line with consensus has little or no effect whereas feedback in favor of objective reality drastically reduces the level of conformity behavior. It was found that reinforcement of conformity had a strong effect and that the effect of reinforcing independence was still significant but reduced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on experimenter sampling in the graduate department of psychology.

A reasonable and economic solution to the cost of experimenter sampling and the problem of experimenter bias may be the formation of a pool of graduate students who are currently running either their own or their sponsor's research and who would equitably run a portion of each other's Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subject performance as affected by experimenter expectancy, sex of experimenter, and verbal reinforcement.

Investigated the effect of E-expectancy, sex of E in relation to sex of S, and verbal reinforcement upon S's response rate in a simple motor-performance task, 160 undergraduates assigned to the 16 cells of a 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 factorial. Ss removed glass marbles from a cache and dropped them 1 at a time through holes drilled in a table top. Main effects of sex of S, verbal reinforcement, and E-expectancy were statistically significant. The expected interaction of sex of E, sex of S, and verbal reinforcement was not supported. The finding of E-expectancy as a significant factor adds to the generality of the phenomenon because of experimental conditions which removed the scoring of responses from E, and which substituted a simple motor-performance task for a judgmental one. (French summary) (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes of psychologists toward experimenter controls in research.

One hundred and twenty psychologists responded to a questionnaire concerning attitudes toward experimenter bias and related issues. Most respondents felt the area to be of considerable importance and that many facets of research appear to lack adequate experimenter-related controls. These controls and concerns are slow to appear in professional journals. Psychologists in perception, physiological, or animal research were much less concerned with the area and its implications than those in social, clinical, or personality areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal conditioning as a function of experimenter characteristics.

An investigation was conducted to test the hypothesis that differences in the characteristics of experimenters can lead to differential learning effects when the experimental session involves verbal conditioning without awareness. "Two experimenters of different sex and markedly different height, weight, age, appearance, and personality ran separate groups of Ss." Results indicated that "the response 'Good' was reinforcing for the class of behavior consisting of the use of hostile words in sentences. In addition, it was found that the rates of learning for the Ss of the two experimenters differed significantly, with a steeper slope for the female experimenter's group." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Familiarity and attraction to pictures of children's faces.

Studied the relationship between familiarity and liking of a peer in 32 children in Grades 1–6. Pictures of boys' and girls' faces were shown at different frequencies; Ss then ranked the faces according to liking. Marked individual differences were found. For Ss with high sex-typed preferences, increased familiarity led to increased liking of same-sex faces and decreased liking of other-sex faces. For Ss with less sex-typed preferences, familiarity did not affect liking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of task and experimenter feedback on the self-reinforcement behavior of internals and externals.

Tested 24 internal and 24 external locus of control Ss on 3 verbal recognition memory tasks. Ss administered self-reinforcement for correct responses on the 1st and 3rd tasks, which had the same difficulty level. The 2nd task was either more or less difficult than the other 2 and was accompanied by E reinforcement. All Ss thus received external evaluation that had variable relevance to their self-evaluation. There were no differences in self-reinforcement base rate (reinforcement rate on the 1st task), but there were several significant and contrasting changes on the 3rd task. Internals attended to both task differences and external evaluation. Externals responded only to evaluation, apparently not attending to task factors. Results are discussed in terms of locus of control and in terms of self-reinforcement behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological significance of pupillary movements.

Pupillary dilation, the light reflex, and spontaneous fluctuations in pupil size have been used as dependent variables in psychological investigations. A review of these studies provides evidence for the effectiveness of the pupil as an index of autonomic activity in psychophysiological research. Methodological problems in the pupillary literature are discussed, and directions for further research are suggested. (105 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Invalid arguments, postmortem analyses, and the experimenter bias effect.

R. Rosenthal (see 43:8) presented 4 arguments attempting to show that the 5 experiments by T. X. Barber, et al. (see 43:8) cannot be viewed as serious efforts to replicate the R. Rosenthal and K. Fode (see 38:3) study. These arguments are shown to be invalid. Rosenthal's critique also presented a postmortem analysis of the Barber, et al., data. A further look at Rosenthal's analysis indicates that the Barber, et al., experiments cannot be interpreted as confirming the E bias hypothesis that Es' obtain results in line with their expectancies. It is concluded that the E bias effect is very difficult to demonstrate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social interaction and experimenter effects in the verbal conditioning experiment.

Investigated the extent to which the concepts of e effect and e bias could be predicted, in a verbal conditioning situation, from a knowledge of several behaviors observed in the actions of psychological es. Ss were 80 female undergraduates, and es were 25 male undergraduates. Analyses of videotapes of verbal conditioning experiments indicate the importance of interactional behaviors, E.g., e smiling, and e-s eye contact. Also, it appeared that es behaved somewhat differently for positively biased than negatively biased ss. Various interpretations of such results are presented, with implications for the social psychology of verbal conditioning experiments. (french summary) (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alternatives to the sequential lineup: The importance of controlling the pictures.

Because sequential lineups reduce false-positive choices, their use has been recommended (R. C. L. Lindsay, 1999; R. C. L. Lindsay & G. L. Wells, 1985). Blind testing is included in the recommended procedures. Police, concerned about blind testing, devised alternative procedures, including self-administered sequential lineups, to reduce use of relative judgments (G. L. Wells, 1984) while permitting the investigating officer to conduct the procedure. Identification data from undergraduates exposed to a staged crime (N?=?165) demonstrated that 4 alternative identification procedures tested were less effective than the original sequential lineup. Allowing witnesses to control the photographs resulted in higher rates of false-positive identification. Self-reports of using relative judgments were shown to be postdictive of decision accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subject, experimenter, and situational variables in research on anxiety.

3 organismic variables, test anxiety of Ss and of Es, and sex of S were manipulated in a verbal-learning situation. 2 siuational variables, preliminary differential-motivating instructions, and success-failure reports were also studied. High test anxious Ss performed at lower level than did low test anxious Ss, and females were superior to males. Female Ss performed best when run by low test anxious Es. Many significant interactions involving both organismic and situational variables were obtained. The results strongly indicate the need for investigations which simultaneously manipulate these variables in psychological experiments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deprivation selectively modulates brain potentials to food pictures.

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used to examine whether the processing of food pictures is selectively modulated by changes in the motivational state of the observer. Sixteen healthy male volunteers were tested twice 1 week apart, either after 24 hr of food deprivation or after normal food intake. ERPs were measured while participants viewed appetitive food pictures as well as standard emotional and neutral control pictures. Results show that the ERPs to food pictures in a hungry, rather than satiated, state were associated with enlarged positive potentials over posterior sensor sites in a time window of 170-310 ms poststimulus. Minimum-norm analysis suggests the enhanced processing of food cues primarily in occipito-temporo-parietal regions. In contrast, processing of standard emotional and neutral pictures was not modulated by food deprivation. Considered from the perspective of motivated attention, the selective change of food cue processing may reflect a state-dependent change in stimulus salience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On reducing experimenter bias: The effects of forewarning.

Tested the hypothesis, with 67 male and 70 female undergraduates, that forewarning would reduce the effects of E bias. Es were given different expectations as to how Ss would perform on a person perception task. Each E then ran a number of Ss. 1/2 of each E's Ss were forewarned of the possibility of E bias and 1/2 were not forewarned. The hypothesis is supported among females (p     

Effects of experimenter absence and subject briefing on social desirability scale scores.

Investigated the effects of 2 methodological variables, briefing-debriefing and E presence-absence on Ss' test-taking performance. 200 college males were randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 conditions and administered the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SDS). Those Ss tested under the E-absent condition obtained a significantly lower SDS score than those in the E-present condition (p