Through the one-way mirror

Three experiments tested how the presence of a one-way mirror raises feelings of vulnerability and test anxiety. In Exp I, 37 male undergraduates performed 5 tasks measuring social desirability, personal history, and ethics either in front of a one-way mirror or not. Exp II duplicated Exp I, but used 93 undergraduates and also measured anxiety, insecurity, and willingness to report confidential material. In Exp III, Ss performed puzzle and learning tasks and completed a personal questionnaire aloud in front of a one-way mirror. Task performance was not a function of the presence of a one-way screen. Reasons are discussed for accepting or rejecting the null hypothesis: (1) Tasks were not susceptible to influence; (2) Ss were not volunteers; and (3) nonpublication of nonsignificant findings may result in Type I errors.