Bogus Pipeline (BPL)
A bogus pipeline (BPL) is a research technique that attempts to control incorrect or false responses from data that is self-reported. When self-reporting many things can cause an individual to respond in a manner that is false. An example of this is social desirability- individuals don't want to be honest about any beliefs that are not socially acceptable (like racist or sexist beliefs) for fear of social consequences. So they are dishonest in their responses so they are not judged for their beliefs. Another example is called demand characteristics and is when a participant responds in a way that they think is 'correct' and the way the experimenter wants them to respond. Typically a BPL is a machine that is hooked up to the participant. The machine is not real but the participant is told it is a lie detector machine or something similar that shows when someone is being dishonest. Although the machine is fake the participant will respond truthfully because they think if they are dishonest they will be found out. There are other ways to be able to discern dishonesty in self-report measures without a BPL (such as the Implicit Attitudes Test).