RESEARCH PARTICIPANT INFORMED CONSENT

INTRODUCTION
You are invited to take part in research conducted by Bryce Carson, M.A., under the supervision of Veronica B. Perez, Ph.D. through Alliant International University. The study is about the relationship between different experiences, including moods, thought processes, and perceptions on social understanding and functioning. Additionally, the study is looking to better understand how different individuals process information and function in day-to-day life. If you agree to participate for the first portion of the study (Part 1), you will be asked questions about mood, perceptual changes, and personal life experiences. If you are approved to complete the follow-up Part 2 of the study, you will also complete social cognitive tasks and answer questions about your current occupational or school and social situation. It is expected that the total time of participation should take between 90-120 minutes. It is expected that the total time of participation should take around ten (10) to twenty (20) minutes for Part 1 and between eighty (80) to one hundred (100) minutes for Part 2 of the study, for a total of approximately one and a half to two hours across both Parts.

PROCEDURES
You are being asked to participate in this study because you are between the ages of 18-65, are fluent in English, and have access to the internet, a laptop/computer, tablet, or smartphone device. Your participation is voluntary, and you may withdraw or quit your participation at any time for any reason with no penalty. You have the right to refuse to participate at any time and you have the right to skip questions or to choose to not participate in the study. You will first be given a questionnaire on mood and perceptual experiences and a demographic screener to determine if you are eligible to continue in Part 1. Please provide an email address to be contacted for scheduling a virtual meeting for the rest of the study. You will be in contact with the research to schedule a time to meet virtually in a Zoom meeting where social cognitive tasks and a survey on more mood and perceptual experiences, work, and relationships will be completed. The Zoom session is encrypted, secured by a password, and will NOT be recorded at any time. Last, you will be asked to complete a self-report questionnaire asking questions on work, school, and relationships, and a questionnaire on past stressful experiences. During the Zoom meeting, you will be required to keep your camera and microphone active during the emotion intelligence tasks; however, you will have the choice to turn them off when completing the additional questionnaires during the session.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND RISKS
There are minimal risks related to this study. Some of the questions that ask about your experiences with mood, and personal experiences might make you feel uncomfortable. In addition to skipping questions or choosing not to finish the study, other measures will be taken by the researcher to help you manage any distress experienced. The contact information for the researcher will be provided at the bottom of this consent. Additionally, you may utilize free resources such as calling the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-TALK [8255]) to be connected to your local crisis counseling line, going to the nearest emergency room, or contacting 911. You will be financially responsible for interventions or assistance beyond the free services listed above. There are some benefits, both direct and indirect, for taking part in the study. If you complete the survey in Part 1, you will be eligible to be entered into one of five drawings for a chance to win a $100 gift card once the research study has completed. For those found eligible for and complete Part 2, you will be compensated an additional $30. You are not guaranteed to win any prize in the drawing and the only compensation you will receive is the approximate chance of winning (no less than 1 in 500) in the five drawings. You will help the researchers better understand how individuals with different perceptual experiences process information and how they interact with others and function in their daily lives.

CONFIDENTIALITY We will make every effort to ensure that the information you provide remains confidential. After completing the consent form you will be assigned a participant number that will be used on all the answers you provide. Your answers are confidential, and no one will be able to identify your responses. The only people with access to the data will be the researcher and supervisor, and the data will be kept for seven years following the completion of the study. After seven years, the data will be destroyed by the researcher. There are several limits to confidentiality or instances in which the researcher would have to disclose information you share. If information is revealed about neglect or abuse of dependent adults, elderly adults, or children, or potential for dangerous behavior towards yourself or others, the law requires that this information be reported to the proper authorities in which case you will be informed.

The study will ask for contact information (e.g., name, email address) for the purpose of emailing to coordinate for the virtual meeting and study compensation. Contact information is kept separate from the data collected and will not be linked to any of the questionnaire answers. By participating in this study, you consent to being contacted in the future to receive additional offers to participate in other studies being conducted by this lab. You may opt out from being contacted to participate in future research participation opportunities at any time.

RESEARCHER CONTACT INFORMATION
Please contact the researcher, Bryce Carson (bcarson@alliant.edu), or the research supervisor, Dr Veronica B. Perez (vbperez@alliant.edu) with any questions. You may also request a copy of this consent form or a summary of the study results. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, you can contact the Alliant International University Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Alliant-irb@alliant.edu. In order to ensure that you have access to phone numbers and emails of contact persons responsible for oversight, supervision or completion of this study, please either download or print this consent form before proceeding with this study.


Approved by Alliant International University Institutional Review Board: IRB-AY-2023-2024-217