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The Social Context of Stress and Behavioral Medicine Research

Instructions, Experimenter Effects, and Social Interactions

  • Chapter
Handbook of Research Methods in Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

In studies of stress, factors such as the context of the research situation, and subtle variations in the instructions presented can have significant effects on resulting psychological, behavioral, and physiological responses. Specifically, both laboratory and field psychophysiology studies involve procedural elements, from the obtaining of informed consent to payment for participation, that can be significant sources of error variance that remain even if the most stringent experimental controls are instituted. This chapter will address potential sources of bias in research that are associated with the social context in which studies are conducted.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, 20814, USA

    David S. Krantz & Jeffrey Ratliff-Crain

Authors
  1. David S. Krantz
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  2. Jeffrey Ratliff-Crain
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

    Neil Schneiderman

  2. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Stephen M. Weiss  & Peter G. Kaufmann  & 

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© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Krantz, D.S., Ratliff-Crain, J. (1989). The Social Context of Stress and Behavioral Medicine Research. In: Schneiderman, N., Weiss, S.M., Kaufmann, P.G. (eds) Handbook of Research Methods in Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine. The Springer Series in Behavioral Psychophysiology and Medicine. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0906-0_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0906-0_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0908-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0906-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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