Abstract

College students in a social science core curriculum course were given an option of completing a packet of psychological inventories and demographic questions. The last inventory in the packet, the Lazarus Stress Questionnaire, evaluated the emotional impact of answering the questionnaires. Positive feelings were endorsed significantly more than negative feelings. Further analyses, using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Life Experiences Survey, revealed characteristics that may predispose participants to positive or negative emotional reactions to participation in research. Results are discussed in terms of self-focus mechanisms and ethical standards in the treatment of students who participate in research.