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Information sheet for participants


Study title: Adaptive learning and control in dynamic environments
Principal Investigator: Neil Bramley
Researcher collecting data: Paulina Weiss

What is this document? This document explains what kind of study we’re doing, outlines your rights, and details the handling of your data. We recommend printing this page for your records.

Nature of the study. You are invited to participate in a study which involves interacting with simple sliders on your screen and answering questions about your observations. Your interactions with the sliders and responses will be recorded. Your session should last for 15 to 20 minutes. You will be given full instructions shortly.

Compensation. For your participation in this study, you will be paid a base rate of £2.50 and a bonus of up to £1.50 depending on your performance.

Risks and benefits. There are no known risks to participation in this study. Other than the payment mentioned, there are no tangible benefits to you, however you will be contributing to our knowledge about causal learning.

Confidentiality and use of data. All the information we collect during the course of the research will be processed in accordance with Data Protection Law. In order to safeguard your privacy, we will never share personal information (like names or dates of birth) with anyone outside the research team. Your data will be referred to by a unique participant number rather than by name. Please note that we will temporarily collect your IP address to prevent repeat participation, however we will never share this information with anyone outside the research team. We will store your IP address using the University of Edinburghs secure encrypted data base and delete it upon completion of the study. The anonymised data collected during this study will be used for research purposes only.

What are my data protection rights? The University of Edinburgh is a Data Controller for the information you provide. You have the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with Data Protection Law. You also have other rights including rights of correction, erasure and objection. For more details, including the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office, please visit www.ico.org.uk. Questions, comments and requests about your personal data can also be sent to the University Data Protection Officer at dpo@ed.ac.uk.

Voluntary participation and right to withdraw. Your participation is voluntary, and you may withdraw from the study at any time and for any reason during the experiment. If you withdraw from the study during data gathering, we will delete your data and there is no penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. You cannot withdraw from this study after completion of the task because your data will be stored anonymously.

If you have any questions about what you have just read, please feel free to ask, or contact us later. You can contact us by email at s1657612@ed.ac.uk and neil.bramley@ed.ac.uk. This project has been approved by the PPLS Ethics committee. If you have questions or comments regarding your own rights as a participant, they can be contacted at 0131 650 4020 or ppls.ethics@ed.ac.uk.

By clicking the button below, you consent to the following:

1. I agree to participate in this study.
2. I confirm that I have read and understood how my data will be stored and used.
3. I understand that I have the right to terminate this session at any point.


Please enter your Prolific ID:





Welcome



Thank you for participating in the SliderControl experiment! Before we begin, take a moment to familiarise yourself with the task environment.


Please, review the following instructions carefully. You will have to pass a comprehension quiz before you can begin.


Instructions



You will interact with three variables, A, B and C, that change their values over time.


Note, all three variables can influence each other!


Instructions



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Adjust the values of A and B to move C onto the gold region of the graph.


Instructions



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Click and drag or hold the left slider to adjust the value of A.


Instructions



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Click, drag or hold the right slider to adjust the value of B.


Instructions



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Here, C is in the gold region of the graph! 😀


Instructions



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Here, C is NOT in the gold region of the graph! 😕


Instructions



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Earn £0.01 bonus pay each time you successfully place or keep C in the gold region!


Instructions



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The task is hard. Don’t expect to earn all bonus pay.


Instructions



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You only have a limited number of steps to complete each task.


Comprehension quiz



Before we start, please answer the following questions to show you understand the task. If you get a question wrong you will have the chance to review the instructions.


1. You adjust the value of A and B by clicking, dragging or holding the sliders at any desired value.


2. The variables have no effect on each other.


3. You increase the bonus payment by placing B in the target region.


4. Your goal is to earn as much bonus pay as possible.



Round: 1/4

Bonus Pay: £0.00

Steps: 0/60

Adjust the sliders to place and keep C in the gold region!


*Extra*


Do you think A, B, and C were causally related? Make your best guess about any causal relationships you observed in the last round. How confident are you about your guess?


Image 1
  • 😕
    Not confident
    😀
    Very confident
    Image 2
  • Not confidentVery confident
    Image 3
  • Not confidentVery confident
    Image 4
  • Not confidentVery confident
    Image 5
  • Not confidentVery confident
    Image 6
  • Not confidentVery confident

    Select an option for each connection to continue.


    Demographics and Debrief



    You are finished! Thank you for your contribution to the study. You will be eligible for full payment once you answer the following questions.



    1.

    How old are you?



    2.

    What is your gender?



    3.

    On a scale of 1-10 (where 10 is the most engaged), please rate how ENGAGING you found the task:



    4.

    On a scale of 1-10 (where 10 is the most difficult), please rate how DIFFICULT you found the task:



    5. Which strategy did you use to solve the tasks? Did your strategy change over the course of this experiment? Please, be specific.



    6. Did you discover any bugs in this experiment?


    To continue, please answer all questions.