Author(s)

Hirotsune Sato^1*, Jun I. Kawahara²

¹Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Japa.
²Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

This study examined whether experimenters’ mood states vary as a function of participants’ mood states. Thirty unacquainted “Experimenter”-“Participant” pairs participated. Participants delivered an unscripted speech in front of an experimenter while being videotaped. The stress levels of experimenters and participants were measured using a questionnaire and salivary cortisol measurements prior to and following the stress induction. A strong negative relationship was found between changes in the stress indices of the experimenters and those of the participants; a smaller increase in stress among participants was associated with a greater increase in stress among experimenters. This result suggests that stress induction can produce negative side effects among experimenters.

Experimenters’ Mood States, Stress Induction, Experimental Ethics

Sato, H. and Kawahara, J. (2017) The Effect of Participants' Stress Manipulation on Experimenters’ Mood States. Psychology, 8, 1229-1237. doi: 10.4236/psych.2017.88079.