Applied behavioral researchers working in product development strive to develop products that improve human life. Toward that end, researchers frequently conduct product usability tests with test participants. Since a usability test is a test, it is likely that some participants will undergo some level of stress during a usability test. This paper explores the stress that a usability test participant undergoes and suggests methods to find an appropriate level of stress that is both high enough to answer the research question and low enough not to harm the participant intellectually, physically or emotionally.
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