This form gives you information about the scientific study we are conducting, in order for you to make an informed decision about whether or not you consent hereto and wish to participate in it. We encourage you to think this over. If you still have some questions, please ask them to the experimenters (via the Prolific platform). You can also ask questions after the experiment is finished by sending an email to info@vub.beel.ac.be. If you decide to participate, you will be asked to sign this form and stay until you complete the experiment. Leaving in the middle of the experiment will hurt the experience of others since this is an experiment that requires a group of participants like yourself to be paired and play together at the same time. However, if you do not feel comfortable you can leave before the experiment starts by not agreeing to this consent form.
The experiment is conducted by the Brussels Experimental Economics Laboratory (BEEL) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). The VUB is the controller of the data and will both be receiving the data in order to use and retain it for the purposes of scientific research. All the experiments we perform are done in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and follow the practice and protocols traditionally followed in experimental economics. As a ‘data subject’ the GDPR grants you several rights that you can exercise over your personal data: i) you have the right to access and correct your data, you also have the right to erase your data, to limit their processing, to object to their processing and to transfer your data to third parties. If you have any questions, please contact the researchers; ii) You have the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of your data at any time. The withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of the processing of the data obtained prior to the withdrawal of consent. For more information, you can contact the data protection officers of the VUB (dpo@vub.be). If you feel your personal data has been handled incorrectly, you can always contact the supervisory authority, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (https://www.dataprotectionauthority.be/) at contact@apd-gba.be.
This experiment studies how individuals make decisions. Through a web browser, you will be asked to make decisions within the context of strategic games, involving other participants. The choices you make in the experiment will directly determine the amount of money you earn. We do not expect any specific behavior from you. Deception is strictly forbidden in the protocols of the type of economic experiments we perform here. There is thus no deception in this experiment and all the information needed to perform this experiment is given in the experimental instructions.
The experiment will last 30 minutes on average, but it may take some time before you are matched into a group and able to start. Your remuneration is composed of a fixed part (a show-up fee of £3 as Prolific mandates paid upon completion of the experiment) and a variable part which will be explained later. Prolific handles the variable part as a bonus payment.
As researchers, we have a duty of confidentiality with regard to the data collected. This means that we undertake, for example in the context of a publication or a conference, never to reveal your name or any other data that could identify you. Nor will individual results ever be published. Moreover, we may only use the data collected for scientific purposes.
The data collected are pseudo anonymous in the first phase, since Prolific associates the data collected with your Prolific ID. However, we only use this Prolific ID to handle your payment. Once you get paid, we will erase your Prolific ID from the final dataset as soon as possible. Thus, in this final dataset it is no longer possible to identify you directly. Once the data has been processed completely anonymously, the GDPR no longer applies.
The Prolific platform collects some demographic data about you which we use for a pre-screening. This data only consists of gender, age and geographic location, and we only use it to make sure that our experimental sample is balanced and representative. Moreover, during this experiment we will collect data about the decisions you make and how you make them. Also, at the end of the experiment we ask you to indicate your level of studies and profession, and ask you to explain in plain text the reason behind your decisions. No other data will be collected.
It is important to notice, as mentioned in the previous section, that once you get paid, we will drop the information about your Prolific ID from the dataset. Thus, the data collected throughout this experiment cannot be linked back to you.
The information that you participated in the experiment will be kept confidential and will be known only to the Prolific platform. You have a right to withdraw consent to that information at any time, and you may do so through the Prolific platform, which will handle this request.
Once the data from this experiment is downloaded from Prolific, it will be fully anonymized and all Prolific IDs are eliminated. This anonymized dataset produced from this experiment will be retained by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel for research purposes and it will be made public to the scientific community. Once more, the data present in this dataset cannot be linked back to you. The remaining data of the experiment in Prolific will be retained until the experiment is published. During this retention time, you may exercise your right to erase this data by making a direct request to Prolific.
There are no health risks and the risk of discomfort is very small. Most participants enjoy the experience; however, you might get disappointed with the amount of money you earned and/or other people’s behavior. Please, let us know if you need to talk to us after the experiment or contact us via info@vub.beel.ac.be.
By signing this document, you give your consent and you indicate that you understand your rights, agree with the above conditions, and agree to participate in the experiment. Specifically:
I declare that I am informed about the nature, purpose, duration, potential benefits and risks of the study and that I know what is expected of me.
I have had enough time to think and I have been able to ask all the questions that have come to mind and I have received a clear answer to my questions.
I understand that my participation in this study is voluntary and that I’m free to stop my participation in this study without having to give a reason.
I understand that during my participation pseudo anonymised data about me, handled by Prolific, will be collected and that the researcher ensures the confidentiality of this data in accordance with the relevant Belgian and European privacy legislation (Cf. AVG or GDPR).
I agree to the processing of my personal data in accordance with the modalities described in the "Privacy and confidentiality" section.
I consent to the processing of my data for scientific purposes.
I consent to the publication of the research results. My name will not be published and the confidentiality of the data is guaranteed at every stage of the research.