The effect of the pseudovolunteer on studies of volunteers for psychology experiments

Abstract

30% of the student nurses promising to participate in an hypnosis study failed to keep the experimental appointment. When these pseudovolunteers are included with the volunteers, and compared with nonvolunteers, there are 2 significant differences of 38 comparisons of variables. When the pseudovolunteers are included with the non-volunteers, 8 comparisons, 1 of which was previously significant, are now significant. It is suggested that the definition of a volunteer may have bearing on the outcome of a study of volunteer personality or behavior, and that future study should utilize actual participation in an experiment as the definition. From Psyc Abstracts 36:05:5AF72L. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)