DECEIVED VERSUS NONDECEIVED PARTICIPANTS PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENTIFIC AND APPLIED-PSYCHOLOGY

Research examining the possible effects of deceptive research particip ation on participants' perceptions of psychology has yielded equivocal results. The present study's goal was to clarify the possible effects of participation in mildly deceptive research on participants' impres sions of scientific and applied psychology. Participants (N = 112) wer e randomly assigned to one of six experimental conditions: active grou ps receiving negative, positive, or no feedback, or passive groups rec eiving negative, positive, or no feedback. Following participation, pa rticipants completed measures of impressions of psychotherapy and psyc hotherapists, researchers, and instructors. The manipulation did not a ffect attitudes toward psychology on any of the dependent measures, al though gender effects resulted on one measure. Participants in general reported very positive attitudes toward the science and practice of p sychology. Recommendations are offered for future research on the effe cts of more extensive deceptions.