We are asking you to participate in a research study titled “Evidence for the Semantic Integration of Novel Words via Co-Occurrence during a Priming Task.” We will describe this study to you and answer any of your questions. This study is being led by Abhilasha Kumar, Psychology at Bowdoin College.

What the study is about The purpose of this research is to investigate how people learn new words when exposed to them in everyday language.

What we will ask you to do We will ask you to take part in a computer-based experiment. On the screen, you will be presented with different sentences containing new words, and you will be asked about the content of some of these sentences. You will also complete a demographic survey. You will also be provided a debriefing script at the end of the experiment for educational purposes. The entire experiment will be completed in one session that will not exceed 30 minutes.

Risks and discomforts We do not anticipate any risks from participating in this research beyond boredom and fatigue.

Benefits There are no direct benefits to participating in this study.

We hope that the knowledge gained from this experiment will help scientists better understand the ways in which humans learn the meaning of new words.

Compensation for participation You will receive 0.5 credits for participating in and completing this study. Please consult your course syllabi for alternatives to earn these credits if you do not wish to participate. Compensation will only be provided for good faith participation, i.e., invalid, or unusable responses will not be compensated.

Privacy/Confidentiality/Data Security Your data will be protected and stored on encrypted servers and computers. All data will be automatically de-identified, such that no personally identifying information will be stored in the data files.

Your confidentiality will be kept to the degree permitted by the technology being used. We cannot guarantee against interception of data sent via the internet by third parties.

Taking part is voluntary Your involvement in this study is voluntary. You may refuse to participate before the study begins, discontinue at any time, or skip any questions/procedures that may make you feel uncomfortable, with no penalty to you, and no effect on your academic standing, record, or relationship with the university or other organization or service that may be involved with the research. You will only be awarded course credit for successfully completing the study and sharing the completion code assigned to you at the end of the experiment for verification. You may choose not to participate if you are not comfortable with these conditions.

If you have questions The main researcher conducting this study is Abhilasha A. Kumar, an Assistant Professor at Bowdoin College. Please ask any questions you have now. If you have questions later, you may contact Abhilasha Kumar at a.kumar@bowdoin.edu. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your rights as a subject in this study, you may contact the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at irb@bowdoin.edu.

If you have carefully read the above information and consent to take part in the study, please click the button below to continue to the experiment.