4. Conduct the experiment.
For my fear assignment, I decided to create a fake test and have the instructor present it to the class as a last minute pop quiz worth an amount of points. The pop quiz was a 24 word word search with words that related to fear and common fears. The test was presented to the students before the projects were officially started to make it more believable. Everyone was given 5 minutes to take the test to give a sense of immediate urgency.
5. Observe the reaction.
The initial reaction was displeasure. I think some people might have though it was a joke seeming that it was April fools day but eventually, with a little persuasion from the instructor, everyone took it seriously. My intention was to present a stress factor to have a reaction of fear and anxiety of failing or not doing well. I feel towards the end of the test most people felt uncomfortable with their results, some even being angry with having to take it. A few people said they weren't worried about the outcome of the test because the overall amount of points with the class would help balance out the bad test grade.
6. Analysis of hypothesis with actual outcome.
I feel that my hypothesis of the project was along the right lines with the outcome of the experiment but not to the extreme that I would have liked. I think most people at some point received a little anxiety of some form or another and that was my initial intention.
7. Propose changes to your idea based on what happened.
I think that I could have changed the test a little bit to make it more extreme such as multiple choice questions or true and false or fill in the blank. I also think that I could have had the instructor send out a message or something a day or two before class saying that we were going to have a pop quiz on Monday about fear. That could have possibly began the anxiety a little earlier. The amount of time for the test would have been lengthened if the test would have been harder.
