An important aspect of studying the effects of deception upon research participants is measuring the influence of deception upon their attitudes and perceptions of research. This study measured participants' attitudes and perceptions using an experimental design that systematically manipulated various levels of deception as independent variables, and assesses participants' reactions as the dependent variable. The first study examined the extent of deception that participants would view as unacceptable, and the limits before participants would react negatively to research involving deception. The second study tested the effectiveness of an alternative to deception, specifically, 'consent to deception'. In study 1, the sample included 165 students (44 males and 120 females). Study 2, the sample included a total of 142 students, (41 male and 101 female). As a result, two major findings emerged from this research. First, the evidence suggests that being deceived has a negative impact upon participants' evaluation of an experiment and with no deception participants' overall reactions are raised. Second, despite the level of deception, participants react negatively to the experiment, but their scientific estimation of the research remains unaffected. Participants' evaluations of different levels of deception were examined in this research providing us with empirical evidence on which to base judgments and recommendations regarding the use of deception in psychological research. Based upon a discussion of the costs of deception, we conclude that deception costs considerably more than previously believed.
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