Interested in participating?
We are constantly looking for participants for our studies. By participating you make an important contribution to science.
Instructions for participants
Please take care to arrive in good time. If you are going to be late, please inform the experimenter by phone. In some studies, you may be asked to fill in forms or questionnaires in advance. If so, please remember to bring the forms with you.
You do not need to prepare for the experiment in any particular way, unless the experimenter has given you special instructions about this. However, we hope you won't show up very tired, intoxicated or ill. If you aren't feeling well or are tired, simply contact the experimenter to reschedule.
If you use contact lenses, we would prefer you to bring glasses instead and leave the contact lenses at home.
Should your experiment take place outside the office hours (mon-fri 08-16), the door into the department may be locked. Under these circumstances, please make sure that you have the experimenter's phone number.
If you want more details about the study you're going to participate in, please contact us.
What happens during the study
The following text is about our EEG studies. Occasionally, we use behavioural and other measures instead of EEG. When participating in these studies, you will receive separate instructions regarding the participation.
Prior to the start of the experiment, we will place an electrode cap on you. In order to measure the electrical activity of your brain, we connect electrodes to your scalp with a bit of water soluble gel. The preparations usually take approximately 20 minutes.
The electrode cap used in most of our brain measurements.
Experiments usually consist of different parts, of which some may include an active task and in others you just hear sounds. In active tasks, you will be presented different types of stimuli and you need to react to them in some manner, such as by pressing a button. In passive tasks no reactions to sounds are required – usually you are simply instructed to watch a movie without sounds for the duration of the experiment.
As a research method, EEG (electroencephalography) is quick, non-invasive, and safe. The only inconvenience that you may experience is the small amount of water soluble gel left in your hair. Due to this, you can use the shower and wash your hair after the study. We provide you with shampoo and a towel.
If the experiment is long and you feel tired, please ask for a break. We will also offer you some coffee/tea and a small snack
Privacy and the recorded data
When participating, you will be asked to read and sign a consent form, which allows the researcher to use the recorded data for a scientific purpose. In most of our studies, we do not inspect data recorded from individual subjects but rather averages of a larger group. If detailed analysis and publication of individual data is deemed necessary, all the data are both analysed and reported anonymously.
Reward for participating
The most common reward we offer are movie tickets. It is possible to get a small amount of money instead, but in that case taxes need to be payed and you should bring your tax card.