Participants' naiveté and confidentiality in psychological research.
This study tested whether participants who deny knowledge about a study and agree to maintain confidentiality should be trusted. 75 female and 33 male undergraduates from a small, private university participated. Their ages ranged from 17 to 43 years (M= 19.9, SD= 2.8). Participants were given vital information about a problem-solving study by a confederate, then were asked on a questionnaire about possessing such information. Only 31% of informed participants gave that information. 69% did not indicate on the questionnaire they had been informed, which is a concern. After signing a confidentiality agreement, participants were asked by another confederate to share information. Although participants rarely gave information to the confederate, in a follow-up survey conducted after the study was complete, 46% admitted they gave information to others outside of the experimental setting, and 20% admitted they had heard information before they arrived to take part in the study.
Tindell
Deborah R
DR
Department of Psychology, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766, USA. tindell@wilkes.edu
Bohlander
Robert W
RW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D003219:Confidentiality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035842:Research Subjects / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires