Subject pool sign-up procedures: A threat to external validity

Author: Jeffrey Jackson   Mary Procidano   Carrie Cohen  

Publisher: Scientific Journal Publishers

ISSN: 0301-2212

Source: Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal, Vol.17, Iss.1, 1989-02, pp. : 29-42

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Abstract

The extent to which introductory psychology students' self-selection into experiments produced biased samples was assessed in two experiments. As part of the normal sign-up procedure, students chose between apparently different experiments with quite different descriptions and between individual and group sign-up slots. Upon arriving at the laboratory, all students filled out personality questionnaires. Results demonstrated that students sorted themselves into experiments as well as into individual group sign-up slots in relation to personality dimensions. The resulting samples in each experiment were thus non-representative of even the restricted introductory psychology subject population. Implications and recommendations for the use of such populations were discussed.