SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPATION ON COLLEGE MEN

College students in a social science core curriculum course were given an option of completing a packet of psychological inventories and dem ographic questions. The last inventory in the packet, the Lazarus Stre ss Questionnaire, evaluated the emotional impact of answering the ques tionnaires. Positive feelings were endorsed significantly more than ne gative feelings. Further analyses, using the Eysenck Personality Quest ionnaire and the Life Experiences Survey, revealed characteristics tha t may predispose participants to positive or negative emotional reacti ons to participation in research. Results are discussed in terms of se lf-focus mechanisms and ethical standards in the treatment of students who participate in research.