The Trouble with Using Undergrads for Psychological Research

[ADad]

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Three psychology researchers have done a systematic search of experiments with subjects other than American undergrads, who made up two thirds of the subjects in all U.S. psych studies. From basics such as visual perception to behaviors and beliefs about fairness, cooperation, and the self, U.S. undergrads are totally unrepresentative…

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<p>[The</a> Trouble With Using Undergrads for Research - Newsweek](<a href=“http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/23/what-s-really-human.html]The”>The Trouble With Using Undergrads for Research)</p>

[psych_2]

<p>This is old news, but still a valid point–my undergrad advisor once remarked that “psychology is actually the study of educated, [mostly] white men [and women these days], ages 18-22.” OTOH, you the process of research is and of itself selecting. We see this in the studies we do on interpersonal violence (in non-college samples)–we get (likely) somewhat inflated rates of abuse experience in those studies, even we don’t directly advertise them as “abuse” or “violence” studies, for participant safety ratings. As another example, when you do studies involving a substantial time commitment, you’re more likely to select in people who are older (retired) and/or low income (have time and need even the “non-coercive” payment for participation). I’m not saying the impact of using a lot of college students should be ignored (it shouldn’t, though I’d note that most of the studies I’ve personally worked on have either been looking at college students specifically or involved community samples. My experience is probably not representative, though), but that self-selection is an issue with any method of recruiting/sampling.</p>

[ADad]

<p>Thank you! </p>

<p>:)</p>

[psych_2]

<p>That should be “for participant safety REASONS”.</p>

<p>And you’re welcome! :)</p>

[fendrock]

<p>I was astonished to hear of the psychological testing undertaken at Harvard by Henry Murray in the late 1950s / early 1960s:</p>

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Students in Murray’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-sponsored study were told they would be debating personal philosophy with a fellow student. Instead they were subjected to the stress test, which was an extremely stressful and prolonged psychological attack by an anonymous attorney. During the test, students were strapped into a chair and connected to electrodes that monitored their physiological reactions, while facing bright lights and a two-way mirror. This was filmed, and students’ expressions of impotent rage were played back to them several times later in the study.

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<p>One of the students subjected to this testing was Ted Kaczynski.</p>

<p>Murray was never disciplined for this torturing of students; it doesn’t seem to have raised any eyebrows at the time.</p>