Most Brown students know exactly what to do with junk mail - they dump it into the "assorted office paper" trash bin. But for those willing to read the table slips and letters printed in bold on cheap paper, seemingly worthless mail may provide a source of income.
These students serve as subjects in the numerous studies led by Brown researchers. For minimal work, students can earn hundreds of dollars, all while contributing to meaningful scientific research.
Student smokers can earn a "very favorable sum of money" by participating in certain University studies, said Tracy Tevyaw, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior for research and co-principal investigator for a study that encourages abstinence from smoking over a period of three weeks. "If they continually abstain, they can earn in the vicinity of $300," she said of participants in her study.
The study uses "contingency management" by providing cash rewards as incentives for daily smokers - specifically college students - to quit their habit.
"In contingency management, we use what's called an escalating schedule of reinforcement," Tevyaw said. "When people start out, they get a nominal amount for abstaining from smoking, but they'll earn more and more each subsequent time that they're abstinent."
Arjun Bhartia '08 recently participated in Tevyaw's study and earned $450 over the three-week period. But Bhartia said he still smokes about two cigarettes a day, just as he did before the study.
"The contingency management didn't really affect me in any significant way," Bhartia said. "I still smoke as much as before, but I did learn some techniques to try to cut down."
Tevyaw's is just one of many studies led by Brown researchers that use cash to encourage performance.
Pedro Dal Bó, assistant professor of economics and researcher for the Brown University Social Science Experimental Laboratory, is currently running a study that pays subjects up to $25 for making a series of decisions.
"Usually we pay a small initial fee of $5, but then we can pay them much more depending on how they perform," he said. "We pay the subjects extra money so that they have incentive to perform as best as they can."
Amos Lichtman '10 recently participated in Dal Bó's study and made approximately $23 for doing work he described as "easy and even fun."
As part of the study, Lichtman said he was anonymously linked by a computer screen to someone else in the room, and together they had to make decisions to try to earn points, which would later be exchanged for a cash reward. The catch was that they couldn't communicate with one another, he said.
"It was set up so that if we cooperated, we'd earn more than if we made opposing decisions," Lichtman said. "It was frustrating, but also kind of fun. Plus, I got what I consider to be free money."
Zach Schlosser '10 also participated in the BUSSEL simulation and has already become a seasoned participant in many on-campus studies, taking part in three during his three-month college career.
"You can really make a lot of money doing these sorts of things," he said. "And the work you have to do isn't hard at all."
Schlosser is currently a participant in a study titled Project CLUEE, or "College Life: Understanding Eating and Exercise," which is being conducted by the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center, which is affiliated with Brown Medical School. The study seeks to determine whether the fabled "Freshman 15" is commonly experienced, and, if so, what factors lead to sudden weight gain.
Schlosser said that, like many members of the class of 2010, he learned of the study after receiving a slip in his mailbox and an e-mail. "I figured I'd give it a shot," he said.
Schlosser said he is only part of the way through the experiment and will have to continue to take hour-long surveys throughout the year.
"You get (paid) a higher amount for each survey, so in the end I should get over $100," he said.
Though cash may be the primary motivator for students participating in studies such as these, Tevyaw said research like her smoking study has greater benefits for its subjects than greenbacks alone.
"Tobacco companies have been extraordinarily effective at targeting college students through smoking campaigns and promotions," she said. "The rates of smoking in the United States overall have fallen over the last few years but not for college students."
Tevyaw added that while some may not understand the justification for paying subjects not to smoke, the tactic is particularly effective, as smokers often engage in their habit despite being aware of the health risks.
"People view smoking and other substance abuse as a vice, so it can be hard to wrap one's head around the fact that we're paying someone not to engage in behavior that people feel is wrong or immoral," she said. "On the other hand, we know that this is the most effective way to get people to stop engaging in this behavior. The research has been replete with situations of people who understood the health risks and have been told not to smoke, and it just doesn't work."
Tevyaw also said studies like hers can benefit people not immediately implicated in the research by reducing stress on the health care system.
"If we're able to effect a change in (the subjects') smoking rates and get them to cut down, that's enormous cost savings from the public health standpoint because the risk of disease will be lessened," she said. "This kind of plan could save the taxpayer millions of dollars."
Though all study participants interviewed by The Herald said they were interested in the research to which they contributed, they said cash remained their main incentive.
"I think they collected some valuable information about abuse and addiction," Bhartia said. "But in the end, they paid me a lot of money and that's really why I did it."
Schlosser expressed similar thoughts about the BUSSEL study and Project CLUEE.
"I'll probably read the reports when they come out," he said. "But I'd say I'm more interested in doing more studies. It's a great way to earn money for very little work."
