#1594: Human Subjects

[[Two people are sitting at a desk reviewing things.]]

Person 1: We’re concerned that some of your results may be tainted by the fact that your human subjects are awful.

Person 2: What do you mean?

Person 1: Several participants in your drug trial were arrested for arson.

Person 2: Side effects can be unpredictable.

Person 1: They were in the control group.

Person 1: In your prisoner’s dilemma study, 80% of the participants chose to betray their partners before the experimenter had a chance to tell them about the reward.

Person 2: Definitely troubling.

Person 1: In one experiment, your subjects repeatedly gave electric shocks to a stranger in another room.

Person 2: That’s a famous psychological-

Person 1: This was a study of moisturizing creams!

Person 2: Yes, we’re not sure how they snuck in all that equipment.