USC Goal Study
University of Southern California
Department of Psychology

You are asked to participate in a research study conducted by Professor Stephen J. Read and Professor David Walsh from the Psychology Department, at the University of Southern California. Your participation is voluntary. You must be aged 18 or older to participate.

In this study, we are interested in how people categorize goals. You will be presented with a list of goals. You will be asked to place these goals into categories.

Completion of the goal task will constitute consent to participate in this research project. No information capable of identifying you will be collected, and you will remain anonymous to the researchers. The file with your responses to the items in the study will be used only for data analysis. Only the investigators will have access to registration and data files. The data files that you submit will be stored indefinitely. When the results of the research are published or discussed in conferences, no information will be included that could reveal your identity.

You can choose whether to be in this study or not. If you volunteer to be in this study, you may withdraw at any time without consequences of any kind. You may also refuse to answer any questions you don't want to answer and still remain in the study. The investigators may withdraw you from the analysis of this research if circumstances arise which warrant doing so. For your participation, you will be entered into a lottery, with odds of 1 out of a 100 of winning $100.

You may participate in this study only once (we check for that).

If you choose to participate in this study, you will be expected to engage seriously in the task.

If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact: Professor Stephen J. Read at read@usc.edu or Professor Davis Walsh at dwalsh@usc.edu

You may withdraw your consent at any time and discontinue participation without penalty. You are not waiving any legal claims, rights, or remedies because of your participation in this research study. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a research subject, contact the University Park IRB, Stonier Hall, Room 224a, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1146 or upirb@usc.edu

Please select the option that corresponds to you:

I have read and understand the procedures described above. My questions have been answered to my satisfaction, and I agree to participate in this study. I accept this as my copy of this information sheet and will print it out if I wish to retain a copy. I am at least 18 years of age.
I am not yet 18 years of age and/or do not wish to continue