Volunteering for Psych Experiments: Is it Worth It?

[Math Is Hard]

So it seems I can earn a little extra credit in one of my courses by volunteering for experiments that are ongoing in the psych dept. I'm thinking about doing it. Anybody else ever do this?

I hope there's no electric shocks involved if I can't find the cheese fast enough.

 

[rcgldr]

It's worse, you'll be listing to "It's a Small World" repeatedly until you start screaming for mercy or subdued into a catatonic state.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

So it seems I can earn a little extra credit in one of my courses by volunteering for experiments that are ongoing in the psych dept. I'm thinking about doing it. Anybody else ever do this?

I hope there's no electric shocks involved if I can't find the cheese fast enough.

Remember the Stanford Prison Experiment
http://www.prisonexp.org/slide-4.htm

 

[Math Is Hard]

It's worse, you'll be listing to "It's a Small World" repeatedly until you start screaming for mercy or subdued into a catatonic state.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

[Math Is Hard]

Remember the Stanford Prison Experiment
http://www.prisonexp.org/slide-4.htm

That's pretty scary. If I should um.. disappear for a few days.. will you guys come looking for me?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

That's pretty scary. If I should um.. disappear for a few days.. will you guys come looking for me?

It sounds like a job for the Sisters and the Supersonic RV!

 

[Math Is Hard]

It sounds like a job for the Sisters and the Supersonic RV!

I agree. I'll put on my tracking device before I go down there so they can find me.

I was just remembering the Milgram experiment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment
<shudder> Changed my view of human nature forever.

 

[JamesU]

I agree. I'll put on my tracking device before I go down there so they can find me.

I was just remembering the Milgram experiment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment
<shudder> Changed my view of human nature forever.

I just spent 10 minutes having opera read that to me

 

[Danger]

volunteering for experiments... ...I'm thinking about doing it.

Had I known that you were even remotely amenable to experimentation, I would have made a proposition ages ago.

 

[Moonbear]

So it seems I can earn a little extra credit in one of my courses by volunteering for experiments that are ongoing in the psych dept. I'm thinking about doing it. Anybody else ever do this?

I hope there's no electric shocks involved if I can't find the cheese fast enough.

Yeah, I did that when in college. Though, at the time, it wasn't an option. We had to "volunteer" for a certain number of hours to earn full credit in our psych course. Mostly, I filled out a lot of surveys and answered boring questions, and probably screwed up a few students' research projects since I always answered whatever seemed most likely to get me done early with the full time credit. (Unpaid, involuntary volunteers don't really give you the results you might hope for.)

 

[Pengwuino]

So it seems I can earn a little extra credit in one of my courses by volunteering for experiments that are ongoing in the psych dept. I'm thinking about doing it. Anybody else ever do this?

beware of moonbear and her bb gun

 

[heartless]

I just spent 10 minutes having opera read that to me

How did you make Opera read the text?

 

[Moonbear]

It's worse, you'll be listing to "It's a Small World" repeatedly until you start screaming for mercy or subdued into a catatonic state.

I don't think those are the only two possible outcomes. A small percentage of subjects have been reported to develop insatiable urges to buy Disney pins. Unfortunately, there's no known treatment for that side effect, and the best we can do is keep the subjects comfortable at the pin trading stations.

 

[JamesU]

How did you make Opera read the text?

I highlighted it, right clicked, and selected "read"

 

[Math Is Hard]

Yeah, I did that when in college. Though, at the time, it wasn't an option. We had to "volunteer" for a certain number of hours to earn full credit in our psych course. Mostly, I filled out a lot of surveys and answered boring questions, and probably screwed up a few students' research projects since I always answered whatever seemed most likely to get me done early with the full time credit. (Unpaid, involuntary volunteers don't really give you the results you might hope for.)

I keep wondering if I'll (unintentionally) give them unusual responses and all they'll get from me is a bunch of outlier scores that they'll just have to kick out. They won't ask me to participate anymore. I'll be blacklisted.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Had I known that you were even remotely amenable to experimentation, I would have made a proposition ages ago.

Yeah, but you're not offering any extra credit - just a good time.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I don't think those are the only two possible outcomes. A small percentage of subjects have been reported to develop insatiable urges to buy Disney pins. Unfortunately, there's no known treatment for that side effect, and the best we can do is keep the subjects comfortable at the pin trading stations.

It's pretty dangerous to get between the subjects and their pins, I understand. I've also heard of a related condition called Disney Pin Deprivation Disorder. Apparently it's very common and causes extreme anxiety and discomfort when the sufferer cannot obtain desired pins. You can look it up in the DSM-IV (Disney Syndromes Manual).

 

[DocToxyn]

We have one of the larger vaccine trial units in the US here at Rochester. I participated in the Bird Flu vaccine trial. It wasn't much of my time, got some shots, gave some blood, and I got paid pretty well. Plus I was in one of the dosed groups so maybe I've gained some resistance, in addition to my preference to perch on the back of our couch and sleep with my head under my arm.

 

[wolram]

Did you guys read about the medical experiment that went wrong in england
several guys nearly died, and now one will have to have all his finguers and toes amputated as they have gangereen.

 

[wolram]

Here it is.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006120434,00.html

 

[Math Is Hard]

Plus I was in one of the dosed groups so maybe I've gained some resistance, in addition to my preference to perch on the back of our couch and sleep with my head under my arm.

Did you guys read about the medical experiment that went wrong in england
several guys nearly died, and now one will have to have all his finguers and toes amputated as they have gangereen.

 

[brewnog]

I got a few fivers for doing various answering-questions type tests for psychology students. Bit boring really, they're never asking what you think they're asking but let them get on with it I say!

Also signed up for medical testing, was all up for getting £2,000 for two weekends in hospital testing painkillers (whoaahh!) but they turned me down because I was left handed. Anyone care to explain?!

 

[Moonbear]

Plus I was in one of the dosed groups so maybe I've gained some resistance, in addition to my preference to perch on the back of our couch and sleep with my head under my arm.

I never qualify for the fun sounding ones. They have a study going on currently testing the effectiveness of yoga for back pain...I thought it might be fun to get paid to do yoga...except I don't have back pain. Maybe I should tell them I do and then miraculously recover?

 

[Danger]

they turned me down because I was left handed. Anyone care to explain?!

Pure prejudice.
The only thing that I can think of, and it doesn't seem likely, is that your right-brain dominance interferes with a structure that the drug is supposed to target.

 

[hypnagogue]

It can be a pretty interesting experience to volunteer if the research is for a field or topic that you're particularly interested in-- so you can get a first person feel for what the science actually involves at the bottom-most levels. (And if you're not doing it for course credit, you can also make a pretty decent buck doing an fMRI or EEG experiment.) In any case, no need to be nervous. Trust me, the experimenters will just be glad to have your data in the first place-- why do you think they used to make "volunteering" mandatory like for poor Moonbear?

 

[wolram]

Danger volunteered one to many times.

 

[Danger]

Perhaps, but I can still spell 'too'.

 

[Math Is Hard]

It can be a pretty interesting experience to volunteer if the research is for a field or topic that you're particularly interested in-- so you can get a first person feel for what the science actually involves at the bottom-most levels. (And if you're not doing it for course credit, you can also make a pretty decent buck doing an fMRI or EEG experiment.) In any case, no need to be nervous. Trust me, the experimenters will just be glad to have your data in the first place-- why do you think they used to make "volunteering" mandatory like for poor Moonbear?

Well, I went and signed up for an experiment that's going on tomorrow. This one doesn't sound much different than answering a survey from the description. It will be neat to see how a real experiment is conducted.

 

[Evo]

The Spawn of Evo's boyfriend is a pre-med student and he's signed up for some heavy duty experiments this summer, but will make a great deal of cash, as opposed to what he could get at some summer job.

 

[Math Is Hard]

The Spawn of Evo's boyfriend is a pre-med student and he's signed up for some heavy duty experiments this summer, but will make a great deal of cash, as opposed to what he could get at some summer job.

That sounds scary!

The psych experiment was not bad at all. I had to do some role playing and answer some questions. I'm glad I did it. It involved an area I was interested in, so I enjoyed being a part of the study.