CONSENT FORM

Accuracy of Our Feelings of Knowing

Principal Investigator: Dr. Mark Cloud Phone: 484-2221
305 Robinson Hall

Co-Investigators: Julie Magee, Kirsten Weber

We invite you to participate in a study of meta-memory – our ability to access our own memory abilities and processes. When we study, we frequently make personal assessments of the degree to which we know certain items of information–feelings of knowing. Our accuracy in assessing our feelings of knowing is often reflected in our performance in future tests of recall. Hence, sometimes we are rewarded by our ability to accurately recall the information we studied. However, we are also sometimes disappointed to discover that we are unable to accurately recall the information we thought we knew.

To participate in this study you must be 18 years of age or older.

Investigation Procedures

If you choose to participate in this study, you will be shown a series of trivia questions with their answers similar to the following:

What is the last name of the author of “Fahrenheit 451”?

Bradbury

Each trivia item will be presented four times for you to read prior to the next. After presenting five different trivia items, you will be requested to give the answer to one of the previous five items. You will then make a judgment of the likelihood that you will accurately answer that same trivia question at the end of today’s session. There will be 25 series of five trivia items presented. We estimate that it will take approximately 50 minutes for the today’s session.

Risks and Benefits

This procedure does not pose any more risk than you experience in normal daily living. If you participate in this study, you may experience a better understanding of meta-memory processes and the satisfaction that comes with research and discovery. We appreciate your assistance in our research effort and hope you will find the experience rewarding. We do not promise, however, that you will receive any of these benefits.

Privacy of Records

Any information that we learn about you that can be traced to you will be used responsibly and will be protected against release to unauthorized persons. Your performance data will be combined with data from other participants and will be reported as group data. The results of this study may be published in a professional psychological journal, but no publication will contain information that will identify you.

Payment

You will receive no payment for participating in this study. However, the experimenter will provide an experiment participation slip at the end of the second session that can be turned in for extra credit in some psychology courses.

Conclusion

Your decision whether or not to participate in this study will not affect your standing at Lock Haven University. Even if you decide to participate, you may stop and withdraw at any time. Of course we will tell you anything during the study that may help you decide whether to continue participation. You are making a decision whether or not you will participate in this study. If you sign this form, you will have agreed that you will participate based on reading and understanding this form. If you have any questions or concerns as a result of your participation in this study, please contact the principal investigator Dr. Cloud (see address and phone on front).

If you have any questions regarding research subjects’ rights, please contact Dr. Christine Offutt, Chairperson, Lock Haven University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects at (570) 484-2400.

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Subject Signature

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Member of Investigation Team Signature