Conditions Under Which a Bogus Pipeline Procedure Enhances the Validity of Self‐Reported Cigarette Smoking: A Meta‐Analytic Review1

Abstract

A meta‐analysis was conducted to test whether the use of self‐report measures within the bogus pipeline (BPL) paradigm yields more valid responses than the use of self‐report measures alone for assessing cigarette smoking behavior. The meta‐analytic results indicate that, overall, a BPL condition resulted in a larger proportion of subjects reporting that they are frequent smokers, as compared to a self‐report measure only (no pipeline) condition. Tests of categorical models indicate that the enhanced validity of self‐reports within the BPL paradigm is moderated by the following variables: (a) type of BPL presentation employed, (b) type of self‐report measure to which the BPL technique is compared, and (c) whether most participants are smokers (as indicated by a biochemical marker).