Subject Effects and Demand Characteristics

Abstract

The procedure described by Sigall, Aronson, and Van Hoose (1970) in their study of subjects' cooperation and apprehension about evaluation was extended to include experimenters who tested subjects from both their own and other classes. It was hypothesized that the effects found by Sigall, et al. would be greater for subjects whose experimenter was their instructor than for subjects whose experimenter was not their instructor. The results did not support the hypothesis. Contrary to the Sigall, et al. findings, subjects in the present study showed increases in performance even when such increases suggested, from the experimenter's point of view, that the subjects were obsessive-compulsive. Interview data indicated that the average subject reportedly believed he was supposed to excell in task performance and performed accordingly. The Sigall, et al. procedure is discussed from both the experimenter's and the subjects' point of view. It is suggested that the procedure does not afford an appropriate test for understanding subjects' cooperation in a psychological experiment.

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