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Effective debriefings also include more general questions about the study. I always ask participants whether they found any aspect of the study particularly easy or difficult. I also ask them if they would recommend any changes to the study. This type of question in the debriefing makes it clear to the participants that you see them as a full partner in the research. It conveys respect but also gives you valuable information for interpreting your data.
Recently, some students tried to replicate Claude Steele's research on stereotype threat. They administered the advanced set of Raven's Progressive Matrices to male and female mathematics and computer science majors with either the stereotype primed (word of caution - this test is known to sometimes discriminate against women) or with no prime. The women in the prime condition outperformed everyone in the study. The debriefing revealed that instead of activating performance anxiety based on the stereotype threat, the experimental manipulation was perceived as a personal challenge and the women tried even harder "in order to prove them wrong". This information was extremely important for interpreting the results. Without it, the students would be left to speculate about why the findings were opposite to those reported in the literature.
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