Participant Information & Informed Consent

1. Introduction

You are invited to participate in the Observational Silence research study, conducted by AURA AI Laboratory in partnership with Mondli Manzi (Department of Psychology, North-West University) and SCHOOL. This study is part of the SCHOOL Game Center, a platform designed to make learning engaging while contributing to real research.

Please read the information below carefully. Ask questions if anything is unclear.

2. Study Purpose

This research investigates selective attention — the ability to focus on one thing while ignoring others.

Specifically:

• Can people miss unexpected events when their attention is focused elsewhere?
• How does attention affect what we perceive?
• Does the colour of an unexpected object affect whether we notice it?

This study replicates a classic psychology paradigm (Simons & Chabris, 1999) in a modern, interactive format. It contributes to our understanding of human attention and perception.

3. What Participation Involves

If you consent, you will participate in a ~2-minute interactive animation task:

• Primary Task: Watch coloured circles pass tokens on screen and count how many times the teal (blue-green) circles pass their token to each other.
• Hidden Element: During the animation, unexpected events occur. Afterwards, you will answer questions about what you noticed.
• Questionnaire: A graded series of yes/no questions about your observations, plus recall probes (e.g., "What colour was the background at the end?").
• Confidence Rating: A simple 1–5 confidence scale.
• Debrief: Revelation of what you experienced and why, plus your opportunity to withdraw consent.

Total time: approximately 2–3 minutes.

4. How Your Data Will Be Used

The data you generate (responses, timing, device information, and framerate) will be stored securely and used only for:

• Academic analysis and publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• Presentation at academic conferences.
• Comparison of attention across demographic groups and device types.

Your name will never appear in any publication. Your responses are linked to a pseudonymous participant ID, not your real identity.

5. Voluntary Participation & Right to Withdraw

Your participation is entirely voluntary. You may:

• Refuse to participate before starting the study.
• Stop and withdraw at any point during the study without penalty.
• Withdraw consent after completion (within 30 days) via the debrief link.

If you withdraw, your data will not be included in the analysis.

6. Risks & Benefits

Risks: This study involves standard visual attention tasks with no known adverse effects. The animation is brief and non-violent. If you have epilepsy triggered by flashing lights, please contact us before participating.

Benefits: You will contribute real data to a peer-reviewed psychological research project. You will also learn about selective attention in a debrief that explains the phenomenon and why it matters.

Credit: Depending on your institution, you may receive course credit or Scholar Credits (within SCHOOL) for participation.

7. Confidentiality & Data Protection

Your data is protected under South African POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013).

• Pseudonymous storage: Your responses are linked to a participant ID, not your name or email.
• Secure transmission: All data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
• Limited access: Only the research team can access identifiable data.
• Retention: Data is retained for 7 years (standard research ethics), then securely deleted.

8. Special Protections for Minors

If you are under 18 years old, your parent or guardian must provide written consent for you to participate. This is a legal requirement in South Africa.

9. Contact Information

Questions about this study?
Mondli Manzi (Researcher)
Department of Psychology
North-West University
Email: mondli.manzi@nwu.ac.za

Questions about your rights as a research participant?
Research Ethics Committee
North-West University
Email: ethics@nwu.ac.za