Informed Consent Form for Social Science Research - Puts Lab

Title of Project:
Principal Investigator:
Informed Consent Form for Social Science Research
The Pennsylvania State University
Sexual Selection on Human Faces and Voices
Dr. David Puts
409 Carpenter Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 867-0453; dap27@psu.edu
ORP OFFICE USE ONLY
DO NOT REMOVE OR MODIFY
IRB#29062 Doc. #1
The Pennsylvania State University
Office for Research Protections
Approval Date: 12-04-09 SJH
Expiration Date: 06-15-10 SJH
Social Science Institutional Review Board
Other Investigator(s):
Dr. Mark Shriver
409 Carpenter Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 863-1078; mds17@psu.edu
Dr. Khytam Dawood
217 Moore Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 867-2337; khytam@psu.edu
1. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research study is to explore how people choose and compete for mates.
Because the results of the study could be affected if the full purpose is known, the full purpose of parts of the study
cannot be explained to you at this time. You will have an opportunity to receive a complete explanation of purpose
following completion of the study.
2. Procedures to be followed: You will be asked to complete a questionnaire that includes questions about your age,
sex, and sexuality during your first session. If you are a woman, you will also be asked to provide some information
about your menstrual cycle and use of hormonal contraceptives. You will be presented with 30-40 facial photographs
and/or voice recordings and asked to make decisions about the attractiveness, dominance, or flirtatiousness of the
people in them.
3. Discomforts and Risks: There are no risks associated with participating in this research beyond those experienced in
everyday life. Some of the questions are personal and might cause discomfort.
4. Benefits: This research might provide a better understanding of relationships and how people choose and compete for
mates.
5. Duration: One hour will be required to complete participation in this research. If participation is split over two
sessions, session 1 will last about 25 minutes and session 2 will last about 35 minutes.
6. Statement of Confidentiality: Your confidentiality will be kept to the degree permitted by the technology being
used. No guarantees can be made regarding the interception of data sent via the Internet by any third parties; however,
your responses will be stored on a secure server. Penn State’s Office for Research Protections, the Social Science
Institutional Review Board and the Office for Human Research Protections in the Department of Health and
Human Services may review records related to this research study. In the event of any publication or
presentation resulting from the research, no personally identifiable information will be shared; this is
impossible because your name is in no way linked to your responses.
7. Right to Ask Questions: Please contact Dr. Puts at (814) 867-0453 with questions, complaints or concerns
about this research. You can also call this number if you feel this study has harmed you. If you have any
questions, concerns, problems about your rights as a research participant or would like to offer input, please
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contact The Pennsylvania State University’s Office for Research Protections (ORP) at (814) 865-1775. The
ORP cannot answer questions about research procedures. All questions about research procedures can only
be answered by the research team.
8. Payment for participation: Participants will receive $7 per session for completing this study, unless you are
receiving Psychology Subject Pool research participation credit or course extra credit.
If you are participating through the Psychology Department Subject Pool, you will receive course credit for
participating as specified in the syllabus provided by your instructor. Alternative means for earning this course credit
are available as specified in the syllabus.
If you are receiving course extra credit for your participation, you will receive credit equal to 2% of your final
grade in the course. You may instead choose to read a recent journal article (within the last 5 years) relevant to a topic
discussed in class, describe the major findings of the article, and explain how they relate to a topic covered in class.
The length should be 200-300 words (approximately one double-spaced, type-written page).
Participants not receiving extra credit or course credit will receive $7 per session.
9. Voluntary Participation: You must be 18 years of age or older to take part in this research study. Your decision to
be in this research is voluntary. You can stop at any time. You do not have to answer any questions you do not want
to answer. Refusal to take part in or withdrawing from this study will involve no penalty or loss of benefits you would
receive otherwise.
Completion of the survey and participation in the laboratory portion of the study implies your consent to participate in
this research.
Please print and keep this form for your records or future reference.
Please see pages 3 and 4 for an optional activity that you may choose to do as part of the research.
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Optional part of study: There is an additional part of the study. This part is optional and you may consent to participate
in the main part of the study without consenting to participate in the optional part. If you consent to participate in the
optional part you will be asked to:
1. Have your facial photograph taken today.
2. Return to the lab a week from today to complete additional face-rating tasks and questionnaires.
Your total participation time will not exceed one hour, regardless of whether you consent to participate in the optional part
of the study.
Before you make your decision, we would like to explain fully how your photographs would be used if you choose to
consent.
The primary purpose of taking your photograph is to measure your face shape for this study. However, there are other
ways in which we can use your photograph in our current and future research. You may consent to none, some, or all of
these uses.
1. We sometimes use computer graphic methods to manufacture composite faces by averaging a sample of faces. If
you consent, we can use your photograph to help make composite faces for use in our research.
Below are examples of four individual faces (on the left) and their composite face (on the right). Note that no
single identity is recognizable in these synthetic composite faces).
2. We also sometimes use unaltered faces or faces that have been altered slightly using computer graphics methods
(“real faces”). If you consent, we can use your real facial photograph in our research. You may choose to consent
to your real facial photograph being used in laboratory studies and / or internet studies. Even if you consent, we
will refrain from using your real facial photograph in laboratory studies at this university for a period of four
calendar years from the end of the current semester (so your real facial photograph will not be seen by your
contemporaries).
3. We also sometimes use real facial photographs to describe our methods to other people. This may include
publishing a photograph in a scientific journal or presentation, or in the news media. If you consent, we may use
your real facial photograph in this way.
If you consent to have your photograph taken, the digital file will be stored on the Puts Lab server space at PSU. Only
named researchers and lab assistants working on this study will have access to the file. Photographs will be stored
according to participant ID number, not participant name (e.g. M001.jpg). This consent form (which ties your name to
your ID number) will be archived in the office of the principal investigator on this study (David Puts).
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Please now complete the following form to indicate which uses you consent to.
1. I consent to participate in the optional study and for my
photograph to be taken to be used in the study.
2. I give permission for my photograph to be archived for other uses
within the research area of human face perception and
preferences. If I do not give consent, I understand that my
photograph will be destroyed not later than one calendar year
from the end of the current semester. If I do give consent, I should
also consent to at least one of the following uses.
a. I give permission for my photograph to be shown to
participants in other studies as part of a composite image,
in which my face will not be recognizable.
b. I give permission for my photograph to be shown to
participants in other LABORATORY studies in its
original or slightly altered form.
c. I give permission for my photograph to be shown to
participants in other ONLINE studies in its original or
slightly altered form.
d. I give permission for my photograph to be published to
illustrate research done in the Puts Lab, or by other
researchers working in collaboration with the Puts Lab.
YES
NO
I have read and understand the above and give my informed consent to those parts indicated.
Name (BLOCK CAPITALS):
Signature:
Date:
(Experimenter will complete)
ID Code:
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