PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH PARTICIPATION REFLECTION PAPER

Goal:
To evaluate the overall experience of participating in different kinds of experiments the UP Psychology
Department has to offer.
Process:
During the start of the semester, it was already hinted upon us that we are encouraged to participate in
various experiments throughout the four months were taking up this elective. I was really excited that I started
to imagine what my participation experiences would be. Dont judge me- Ive never been to any experiments
before so I started envisioning mixed scenarios combined from what Ive seen on television, series, and the
Internet. Some of my imaginations included: Will I experience the same treatment given to lab rats? Will I
receive some amazing goodies after the experiments? Will my life forever be changed after going through these
experiments? Of course, these were expectations based on the media I am frequently exposed to and even though
I knew these werent 100% realistic, nonetheless, they made me feel more excited to do this activity. Also, I
didnt ask friends who took up Psych 101 before anything so as not to spoil whatever surprise I am about to
receive.
What a better way to finally answer all my hunches than to stop imagining and start taking action. To
PHAN 3rd floor off I go and surprisingly, a battle welcomed me. Signing up for experiment slots was literally
comparable to going to Divisoria during Christmas Season. Everyone was squishing each other to make their
way to the bulletin board. At first, I was still patient and was waiting for the chaos to settle down but when 10
minutes has passed and the situation remained unchanged, I decided to put on my game face on and joined in the
battle. I formulated a system for choosing which experiments to join in:

1. Scan through the titles- Of course, I wanted to join experiments that are interesting and as much as
possible, those that cover different topics.
2. Check the date- I wanted to make sure that the dates Im participating in experiments arent chaotic. I
easily get stressed so if I have a lot of things to do in a particular day, I might not be in the perfect state
(both mentally and emotionally) to join in these experiments.
3. Check the time slots available- I didnt want to hoard the signups then cancel last minute if Im not
available. I didnt want to give those experimenters headaches they dont deserve.
4. Sign up- After signing up, I immediately took note of the schedules on my planner as to remind me not
to miss these commitments.
Outcome:

The much awaited experiment adventures finally arrived. All in all, I did 17 different researches with a
wide array of topics ranging from about oneself (MAPA, Lift Satisfaction), to topics about family (My Family
and I, Pagmamahal), and even tackled issues of the society (Social Justice, Social Ladder)! I felt amazed with the
variety of topics I was exposed to during the short period of time. Initially, I just experienced two different
methods of research: online survey through questionnaire and on- site survey through questionnaire. Since I felt
that these kinds of experiments are too normal and felt that I wasnt able to maximize the opportunity given to
me, I went proactive and signed up for two more researches (even though I already exceeded the required
number of hours) to participate in experiments that used the observation method. To summarize, I participated in
7 online surveys, 8 onsite surveys, and 2 observational experiments.
Insight:
A. Methodology
1. My favorite experiment would be the Blind Date. I found it interesting since it was not the typical
questionnaire survey type of research Ive always participated in. Here, I was blindfolded and led to
a room where I, together with another person, were tasked to engage in a discussion based on the
topic the researchers would give. All throughout the conversation, distractions were triggered such
as someone psst-ing from time to time. The main goal of the experiment was to gauge how
distractions may affect the memory and concentration of a person.
Throughout the research, I realized that not only should the researchers be very knowledgeable on
the topic of their experiment is dwelling on but they should also have the appropriate skills to
conduct one. Im a very observant person so I easily notice any sneaky deeds. For example, even
though I was blindfolded, I easily noticed that the person who was psst-ing all throughout the
discussion was actually just a recording played through a laptop. Knowing this, I immediately
dismissed this distraction and I believe, this might have actually affected the result of my
performance in one way or another. Simply said, the researchers should allot equal effort as they
have applied in their study as to the act of choosing who to conduct these kinds of live experiments.
2. The online survey was indeed easier to access and less hassle to get a slot to participate in. However,
it also has a lot of disadvantages that made me think how accurate are these studies actually? Since
the surveys are too long, I personally think that at some point, a lot of people eventually just did a
shot gun method of answering since they just want to finish the form. Upon doing mine and
observing my friends accomplish their survey, people tend to not fully understand and absorb the
questions and just move on and answer the questionnaire half mindedly, eliciting answers that are
not actually carefully thought of.
B. Questions
Since majority of the experiments that Ive participated in are in survey form, I actually asked
myself if this type of experiment is indeed effective. To answer this, I made an effort to analyze the
kinds of questions that were presented to me and here are some observations I made:
1. In my personal opinion, the way majority of the questions were asked were too straightforward in
the sense that they actually trigger the social desirability in me. Im not sure if this is the already the

right and best way of asking but personally, I would appreciate questions that would make me
answer honestly and not give me that feeling of I need to answer this correctly instead of I need
to answer this honestly. Im not asking for the questions to be blurry (because that would be
worse) but maybe the tone of asking can be refined and maybe using words that make the
questioning more discreet but of course, still not veering away from the main topic would be
helpful?
2. There was a survey that really bothered me- the one entitled Pag-ibig. The questions directed us
to evaluate our loved ones in different scenarios such as Are they supportive?, etc. but when I
asked the researcher who they meant when they said loved ones, they said everyone we love
including the parents, friends, lover, etc. However, I found this weird because I have different
answers per question for these different kinds of people. When I raised this concern to the
researches, they told me to just average the ratings I will give to may parents, friends, lover and put
the mean as my answer. I found this very weird because my answers per kind of people really differ
so much. Also, I dont think other people did the same thing since during my time slot alone, I was
the only one who asked and they didnt bother to announce this instruction to everyone. In
conclusion, I really dont know if that research would generate conclusions that are really as truthful
and accurate.
C. Sign-ups
As stated awhile ago, the system for signing up was really chaotic. People hoarded slots and I doubt
they showed up in all the experiments they volunteered to be part of. I think there is a huge potential
to improve the operation flow of this system such as doing online signups through mysignups.com
and applying grave penalties to those who are signing up just for fun and not actually showing up.
I realized with this experience that I actually want to take up more Psychology electives for me to have
the chance to leverage on the good points the previous researchers showed and personally work on the points for
improvement I noticed to produce my very own researches. I think I would actually spend my last 2 non-BA
electives in this building (see you next semester!)
Overall, I enjoyed the entire experience of research participation this semester. Not only did I feel
satisfied to gain new experiences but I also felt giddy that I was actually able to contribute something for the
department, which I know will eventually result to and produce something very beneficial to the country and the
Philippine society.