Using a photo-rating task, three studies of the experimenter-bias effect were conducted with mental patients, nurses, and alcoholics serving as Es and with a variety of mental patients and alcoholics as Ss. The biasing did not appear when mental patients as Es ran mental patients but did appear with alcoholic Es running alcoholics; when nurse Es ran mentally ill Ss, a significant effect appeared but in the unexpected direction. Results indicated the need for research on E-S status differences, feeling tone, and limiting conditions of the bias with ‘atypical’ Ss and Es.
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