Yes, you will be able to sign up only if you are 18 or older.

If you are interested in participating in experiments, please register to our subject pool (see more here). You will receive periodic invitations by email to sign up for new experiments posted on the calendar. To sign up, log into your personal area, select a session, and reserve a spot on the participant list or just click the link in your invitation email.

You can participate to as many experiments as you want, with one exception: as many experiments consist of several sessions, you may not be allowed to sign up for a session if you already participated to another session of that same experiment. Make sure to register under one email address only, so that you are not invited to sessions for which you don’t qualify for due to past participation.

That is probably due to the fact that you participated in a previous session of the same experiment before. There will be new experiments in the future, and you will receive an email inviting you to sign up if you are eligible to participate. Also, make sure you sign under your actual status, e.g. Brown undergraduate: some sessions may be open only to undergraduates.

BUSSEL is located on the 9th floor of the Sciences Library. Some experiments will take place entirely online or at a different location; this will be clearly indicated in the invitation message you receive for it.

For every experimental session, you will receive a fixed show-up fee as well as variable compensation for participation. If you show-up to the laboratory or log on in time (depending on whether the experiment is in-person or online), you will receive the minimum show-up payment. This will be the case even if there are more participants than needed and you will not be allowed to participate to that specific session. The payments for individual experiments vary and may depend on your decisions, the decisions of others, luck, and on the length of the experiment. Average total payments typically range from $10-$25, but there can be more variation in the earnings of given individuals (so you may receive either more or less than the average).

Each experiment is different, as subjects typically go through several rounds of decisions, either alone or in groups. Experimental sessions normally last between 30 and 90 minutes. Before you sign up, you get an announcement email with details on time, date, place, and the expected length of each experimental session.

The data you provide when you sign up to the subject pool is used exclusively to send you invitations to future experiments. It will never be published: the data is kept secure on our servers and can be seen only by experimenters and lab managers.

The data collected during experiments, which may be published, is anonymous and cannot be traced back to individual participants. To this purpose, the experimenter will assign you a random ID (or a similar device): this is meant to prevent anyone (experimenters included) from observing directly what you decide or how you perform during the experiment. This ID is also used to ensure you are receiving the right amount at the end of the experiment. As soon as the experiment is over, experimenters will erase all the IDs from the data we gathered to make sure it cannot be traced back to you in any way.

For more information, check our rules and policies.

After conducting an experiment, we need some time to update the recruitment database. If the experimenter has not filled in the participation data yet, there will be the three question marks as your "show-up" status for the experiment. Once the data is entered, the status will change to either "yes" or "no".

Researchers have to be sure that subjects who signed up for a session actually show up and are on time. If you sign up and cannot make the session, please inform the researcher directly or email bussel@brown.edu as soon as possible. Please make sure to only sign up to sessions you are confident you can attend. BUSSEL reserves the right to block or remove subjects who repeatedly fail to show up to sessions on time from the registration system. For more information, check our rules and policies.

No, that is not allowed. You can however bring a bottle of water with you.

Please let us know immediately at bussel@brown.edu.

Contact us at bussel@brown.edu, so we can put you in touch with the facility managers.

Obviously! However, we ask you to let us know about it in advance: this will allow us to make the experimental setup as accessible as possible. Unfortunately, it may not be possible to accommodate every necessity: for example, some studies may necessarily require you to be able to hear sounds.

Many studies can accommodate only a given number of participants. We sometime recruit more participants than necessary, to avoid cancelling a session in case someone does not show up or is late. If more people than needed show up, some are turned away with the show up fee. In this case, you are usually given the opportunity to sign up again for another session of the same experiment.

No, that is not possible. We identify all participants before the experiments begin, and we cannot allow anyone who is not registered in the laboratory. If you cannot make it to the experiment, please cancel your participation or contact us as soon as possible.

Experiments involve using a computer to play games, answer questions, or perform different kinds of tasks. All experiments are not invasive, and they usually do not involve any physical component.

We usually pay cash or gift cards at the end of each laboratory experiment. Due to the pandemic, we are now introducing new ways of paying electronically. At the moment, we can pay only through electronic gift cards (typically Amazon ones). We are working to include other payment methods in the next few months.

To avoid receiving new invitations, you can log in and click the "Unsubscribe" button at the top right corner. This keeps your name and pertinent data in our database for further reference (for example, in case you want to subscribe again). In case you want to remove those data as well, please contact us at bussel@brown.edu. We will then proceed to replace your record with dummy entries (for example, your name will be replaced with "deleted_name").

No, we strongly discourage you from doing so. Your information is crucial to keep the experimental laboratory running smoothly. If your record is found to be incorrect, we reserve the right to exclude you from future experiments. If there is some infomation you do not feel comfortable providing, you can contact us about it. Your information is kept secure on our servers, and no one can access it except for experimenters and the lab manager. Make sure to check our rules and policies as well.

Invitation Policy

When we open a new experiment for registration, we send out e-mail invitations to some or all the people that have signed up for experiments. Once you have received an invitation, if you would like to participate to that experiment, please sign up for one session by following the instructions in your invitation email. Otherwise, just ignore the invitation. Ignoring one or more invitation will not affect in any way the chances of being invited to participate in another experiment.

We usually run several different sessions of the same experiment, so there are often multiple times and dates from which you can choose. Sign up for only a SINGLE session, as you can participate in an experiment only once. By signing up for a session, you commit to participate in that specific session.

You can unsubscribe from the invitation emails at any moment without penalty. If you want to erase your pertinent information from the database as well, you can send us an email. We will then proceed to replace your record with dummy entries (for example, your name will be replaced with "deleted_name").

No-show policy

If you decide to sign up for an experiment and you can no longer attend, please contact us as soon as possible at bussel@brown.edu. We track the number of "no-shows" for each participant and reserve the right to exclude from the subject pool those who regularly do not show up to an experiment after they have registered for them. Letting us know you can no longer participate in advance will ensure there are no "no-shows" on your account.

Punctuality

If you sign up for an experiment, please arrive at the lab or log on 5-10 minutes before the starting time of the session. Please be aware that experimenters usually recruit more subjects than necessary, in order to make up for last-minute cancellations from participants. After the scheduled start time, anyone who registered for an experiment (that is, was invited and confirmed his participation in a specific session) but did not show up will not receive any compensation for it.

Strict no deception policy

BUSSEL implements strict no‐deception policy, meaning that all information you are told during experiments is truthful. This may not be the case for experiments in other laboratories or fields of science.

Voluntary participation

Participation to BUSSEL studies is completely voluntary: by signing up for our subject pool, you just agree to receive email invitations to our studies. Moreover, you may change your mind about participating at any point during the experiment. If you do so, however, you will not be entitled to any compensation for that experiment. Please keep in mind that, depending on the type of experiment, this may entail that the experiment has to conclude for some or all other participants.

Compensation Policy

If you show-up to the laboratory or log on in time (depending on whether the experiment is in-person or online), you will receive a minimum show-up payment. This will be the case even if there are more subjects than needed and you will not be allowed to participate to that particular session. In addition, you can earn more money depending on your decisions, the decisions of others, luck, and on the length of the experiment. Average total payments typically range from $10-$25, but there can be more variation in the earnings of given individuals. The normal method of payment is either cash or gift cards. You will be paid privately at the end of the experiment: no one else will know how much you earned. Payment method and show-up fee will be clearly indicated in the invitation emails you will receive.

Internal Review Board approval

All experiments that you will be participating in (with the exception of those run by students for class projects) have been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Brown University (IRB). The IRB is in charge of making sure that the experiments comply with all federal regulations, and in particular that each participant has expressed his or her informed consent, and that the experiment does no harm. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a research participant, you may contact the Brown University Human Research Protection Program at (401) 863-3050.