Before you begin ...

About this study

Title “Do faces appear happy or fearful?”

Invitation to participate. The minimum age for participation in this study is 18. You are being invited to take part in a research study.  Taking part is voluntary; it is up to you to decide whether or not to take part.  It is important for you to understand what the research is about and what it will involve.  Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish.  If anything is not clear to you or you would like more information, please ask.

What is the study about? This study is designed to examine how we judge faces as either happy or fearful.

Why am I doing the project? To gain further understanding of how we judge faces as either happy or fearful.

What will you have to do if you agree to take part? First, you will complete the fearful/happy decision task. Your task is to decide whether faces appear happy (by pressing the "h" key) or fearful (by pressing the "f" key).  The task will take approximately 20 minutes and will be followed by 16 questions about the experience and expression of emotion in society. More specific instructions will be given if you agree to take part.

How much of your time will participation involve? The experiment should take approximately 20 minutes.

Will your participation in the project remain confidential? If you agree to take part, your name will not be recorded on the questionnaires and the information will not be disclosed to other parties. Your responses to the questions will be used for the purpose of this project only. You can be assured that if you take part in the project, you will remain anonymous.

What are the advantages of taking part? You may find the project interesting as it relates to an issue which is a fundamental aspect of human behaviour. A short debrief will be given after the experiment (it will appear on the computer screen). You will learn about the research process.

Are there any disadvantages of taking part?

  1. You will be put under time pressure when judging the faces – you make like being put under time pressure.
  2. Some of the faces will express unpleasant emotion. You may not like looking at these.
  3. At the end of the experiment, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire designed to measure your views about how people assigned to be male or female at birth experience and express emotion. You may not wish to give your opinion.

Confidential. All measures will be completely confidential – your name or other information will not be linked to the data, nor will your data be used in any way that might lead to adverse consequences for you).

Can I change my mind? Yes, you can stop taking part in the study at any time. You can do this without any negative consequences, and you do not need to provide a reason.

Having your data withdrawn. You can also ask for all your data to be destroyed. If you would like to withdraw your data, you will be given a link at the end of the experiment, you must complete this before 04/09/2023 if you wish to have your data destroyed.

Who can I contact for further information? Researcher:  Dr Jason Tipples jason.tipples@sunderland.ac.uk

If you wish to talk to an independent representative within the university and someone who is outside of this research study, please contact Dr John Fulton (chair of the ethics committee) on email: john.fulton@sunderland.ac.uk

Contact information

Information about this study:

Contact email: jason.tipples@student.sunderland.ac.uk

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Confirm you want to do this survey

Consent Form

I confirm that I have read and understood the information sheet for the above study and understand what is expected of me.

I confirm that I am over the age of 18.

I understand that my participation is completely voluntary.

I understand that I am free to stop the study at any time and I am free to withdraw my data from the study until 04/09/2023.

I am also aware that data collection is anonymous – my identity is not linked to the data.

I am also aware that I can have my data destroyed either by completing a form  (link will be given at the end of the experiment)

I confirm that I have been given the opportunity to ask questions regarding the study, and if asked, the questions were answered to my full satisfaction.

Data Protection Act

I understand that data collected from me during this study will be stored on a computer and that any computer files containing information about me will be made anonymous. I also understand that this consent form will be stored separately from any data that I provide.

I agree to Sunderland University recording and processing my data and that these data will be used solely by the researcher, and may be presented in other academic forums (e.g., academic journals, at conferences, or in teaching) and will be stored in anonymized form (your ID is not stored or taken so not available to others). I understand that my data will be used only for these purposes and my consent is conditional upon the University complying with its duties and obligations under the Data Protection Act.









Important data protection information

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