Walking up the library steps, through the campus center tunnel, or into the psychology building, students see a familiar sight -- posters seeking test subjects for experiments. Phrases like "Earn $20" or "Voulez-vous gagner $30?" intrigue those students always looking for an easy buck. But, what do they mean? Will people in white lab coats hook you up with electrodes like an old episode of "The Twilight Zone," or lock you in a room for hours while you stare at inkblots?
Professor Joseph Debold, head of the psychology department, quickly dispels the mystery. He explained that "individual faculty members and their graduate students" lead the studies performed at Tufts, although not all the posters seen around campus are for Tufts-led studies.
Students should have no qualms about participating in these studies, even if they are obscurely titled. Every study using humans as subjects performed at Tufts must pass through an internal review board to ensure it is ethically sound before researchers can even begin advertising. It is unknown, however, if other studies advertised on campus have gone through the same review.
The studies themselves come in many different varieties -- the broadest division being between paid and voluntary studies. Freshman Rebecca Katz participated in psych experiments for her intro class. "I had to do three tests for Introduction to Psychology," Katz said. "They weren't paid but it wasn't a big deal. Some were supposed to last an hour, but only lasted a half hour." She said that participating in the experiments was also a good way to learn how experiments are conducted.
According to psychology professor Richard Chechile, participating in psychology studies is beneficial to everyone academically -- helping faculty and grad students with their research and providing a firsthand experience for potential psychology majors.
"From an educational perspective it is a valuable experience [for students] to participate," he said. "Often the memory of this experience has more lasting value [than classroom work]."
Psychology experiments often employ deception of the subject to obtain viable results.
When deception is used, however, it purpose is considered for all studies. "If there is any deception that needs to be used, it needs to be justified" before the study is approved, psychology professor Richard Chechile said. In addition, participants must give a signature of informed consent.
"With human subjects, we have to go through a review process, Chechile said. "Virtually everyone has to be certified in a training program for knowledge of ethics and an understanding of issues involved."
Paid studies provide a student with more than just an academic experience: they are an easy way to make money. Some studies pay 15 dollars an hour, but with compensation often comes a more involved experiment.
Sophomore Christine Ash participated in a study that analyzed the brainwaves of people learning a second language. She said the compensation she received wasn't worth the experience.
"For me personally I wouldn't do it again even if I was paid -- it was not a comfortable two hours," Ash said. "I had to wear a cap -- kind of like one you wear when you go swimming to keep your hair dry -- that had a lot of different electrodes and wires attached to it. I sat and looked at a computer screen showing different words in English or French and another computer read my brainwaves using the electrodes on the cap."
Debold said that the psychology department is concerned about other organizations advertising on campus that haven't necessarily gone through a review board. Tufts' review board would like each advertisement to prove the experiment being run is ethically sound.
The money for psychology studies generally comes from grants. If more money is needed, "researchers must convince someone like the National Institutes of Health that the goals of the study and the methods of the study are worth supporting," Debold said. Equipment for the study makes up most of the budget, but paying human subjects is also included.
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