FAQs

Consent Form to Participate in Research on Human Decision-Making Behavior

IRB #: 2022-0093

KEY INFORMATION:

To decide whether you wish to participate, you should know enough about its risks and benefits to make an informed judgment. This consent form gives you information about the research study, and the experimenter will provide you with additional information about the specific decisions that you will be making. You can ask questions of the experimenter at any time. Once you are ready, you will be asked if you wish to participate and, if so, you will be asked to sign this form. You can choose not to participate, and you can choose to end your participation at any time during the study.

WHY IS THIS STUDY BEING DONE?

The purpose of this study is to help us learn more about how humans make decisions.

WHAT IS INVOLVED IN THE STUDY?

During the study, you will complete a number of decision-making and cognitive control tasks. You will also be asked to answer questions about yourself, including demographic and medical information. We will place a small, flexible probe containing two optical fibers on different parts of your head. We will use one of the optical fibers to deliver a safe amount of light to your skin, and another fiber to detect the light emerging from your skin at a short distance away from the light delivery fiber.   Specifically, we will use approximately 50 mW of laser power, which is below the ANSI safety limit of 300 mW/cm^2. For comparison, a standard laser pointer used for presentations emits approximately 15-20 mW, so the general experience would be akin to shining light that is the brightness of 2-3 laser pointers to the forehead. All participants can ask to stop the laser or stop participation at any time for any reason during the experiment. 

 

HOW LONG WILL I BE IN THIS STUDY?

Your participation in this study will last for about an hour. You may choose to end your participation at any time. If you decide to stop participating in the study, please contact the experimenter.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF THE STUDY?

Because the use of lasers always carries a slight risk of eye damage when the light delivery fiber is not positioned on the skin, all participants are required to wear eye safety goggles. As an added precaution we will only turn on the laser once it is positioned on the forehead. 

 

HOW WILL MY DATA BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL?

After the study, we will analyze the data collected from all participants. The data collected will not be personally identifiable. We may use the anonymized data for future research. We may collect your name and any identifying information for accounting purposes only. This information will never be connected to your study data. You will be assigned an arbitrary subject number that we will use throughout this study. Your subject number will be stored separately from the consent form so that your name is not readily connected to your research data. That identifiers might be removed from the identifiable private information and that after such removal, the information could be used for future research studies or distributed to another investigator for future research studies without additional informed consent from the subject.  Therefore, when we report our findings or make the data available to other researchers, we will do so in a way that you cannot be identified. The data will be stored locally on a desktop that does not have internet access. You should noticed that the U.S. Department of Defense is providing support for the research, hence, the U.S. Department of Defense personnel responsible for the protection of human subjects will have access to research records. 

ARE THERE BENEFITS TO TAKING PART IN THE STUDY?

This research study will provide you no direct benefit. However, the data you provide may help improve the scientific understanding of how people make decisions.

WHAT ABOUT COMPENSATION?

 

The $15 Amazon Gift Card’s value will be prorated for the one-hour session. For example, if a participant leaves after 20 minutes, then they will receive a $5 Amazon Gift Card, or if a participant leaves after 30 minutes, they will receive a $7.50 Amazon Gift Card. 

WHOM TO CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS?

If you have questions about this research, you may contact the responsible investigator, Scott Huettel, at scott.huettel@duke.edu. If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the Chair of the Human Subjects Committee at campusirb@duke.edu. Please refer to protocol number 2022-0093 in your contact.