Individual Differences In Experiment Participation: Structure, Autonomy, and the Time of the Semeste

Abstract

This research investigated the association of two individual difference moderators of psychological phenomena with the time of semester students choose to participate in experiments. The Personal Need for Stmcture (PNS) scale and the Stein Self-Descriptioti Questionnaire were administered to the students in an introductory psychology class at the beginning of a university semester. Students' responses on these measures were related to their chosen dates of required participation in psychological research. Higher levels of PNS predicted earlier experiment participation and quicker completion of the experiment requirement once started. Personality types distinguished by the Stein Self-Description Questionnaire revealed that those indifferent or hostile to authority participate in experiments later in the semester than do the curious or more conforming types. Implications of these findings for external validity of social psychological research at different points in the semester are discussed.Research in psychology is cotiducted primarily iti the laboratory (Sears, 1986), with research participatits often coming from a pool of under-

Follow the crowd in a new direction: When conformity pressure facilitates group creativity (and when it does not)

“…In contrast, because less creative personalities perform better when there is structure and reduced ambiguity, the opportunity to conform may be desirable since the group's expectations are clear (Judge, Thoreson, Pucik & Welbourne, 1999;Norton, 1975;Roman et al, 1995). For example, Neulinger (1965) reported that less creative personalities reported enjoying an unpleasant task more when they were forced to perform it than when they were given a choice.…”

“…In this context, pressure to conform might be experienced as an unduly controlling external constraint that may curtail idea expression (Amabile, Golfarb & Brackfield, 1990). Taken together, in groups composed of highly creative personalities, an individualistic norm should promote greater creativity when pressure to conform is low rather than high.In contrast, because less creative personalities perform better when there is structure and reduced ambiguity, the opportunity to conform may be desirable since the group's expectations are clear (Judge, Thoreson, Pucik & Welbourne, 1999;Norton, 1975;Roman et al, 1995). For example, Neulinger (1965) reported that less creative personalities reported enjoying an unpleasant task more when they were forced to perform it than when they were given a choice.…”

Time of Semester as a Factor in Participants’ Obedience to Instructions to Perform an Aversive Task

“…Lower in personal need for structure; more indifferent or hostile to authority. Roman et al (1995) 4. Higher in sensation-seeking and impulsivity.…”

“…Table 1 summarizes the major differences that have been found between students who choose to participate later versus earlier in an academic term. Given this potential for self-selection bias in a researcher's sample, some researchers have expressed concern that the effects of particular variables could depend on when during a term the participants were recruited (see, e.g., Harber et al, 2003;Roman et al, 1995).…”

“…Students usually have the option of signing up for studies at any time during the semester, and research over a period of decades has found that students who sign up early tend to differ from students who sign up later in a variety of ways: in gender, with females signing up earlier than males (Harber, Zimbardo, & Boyd, 2003;Richter, Wilson, Milner, & Senter 1981); on questionnaire measures of personality traits (Bender, 2007;Harber et al, 2003;Roman, Moskowitz, Stein, & Eisenberg, 1995;Zelenski, Rusting, & Larsen, 2003); and in task performance (Casa de Calvo & Reich, 2007;Hom, 1987;Richert & Ward, 1976;Richter et al, 1981). Table 1 summarizes the major differences that have been found between students who choose to participate later versus earlier in an academic term.…”