Pygmalion in the laboratory.
Testers and bystanders can inadvertently lead subjects to answers in laboratories and in classrooms, in face-to-face tests of human beings and other animals. Many modern investigators avoid leading by using blind tests scrupulously. This article shows how to design blind tests and illustrates common methodological errors that allow leading to confound experimental results. The object is to help experimenters, editors, and readers detect and avoid a common experimental error that often has profound theoretical implications.
University of Nevada, Reno, 89557, USA. gardner@unr.edu
R Allen
RA
Gardner
Matthew H
MH
Scheel
Heidi L
HL
Shaw
D000818:Animals; D001364:Awareness; D015982:Bias; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D006736:Horses / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D009042:Motivation; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D002679:Pan troglodytes; D011589:Psychology, Experimental / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012107:Research Design; D012813:Sign Language; D013404:Suggestion