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Instructions

I am part of a research team looking into people's beliefs about human nature. This study is a continuation of studies conducted on communities in Canada, the United States and Brazil. We are curious about whether a self-selected online community will show similar patterns to local self-selected commmunities.

Because this research project is being conducted at an American university, it has undergone ethical review by an insitutional review board; this page informs you about this study and your rights. Most importantly, please know that all of this data is being collected anonymously; we will never be able to associate this data with your real life or online identities.

This study should not take longer than 30 minutes to complet--most people finish in about 15 minutes.

You can choose to stop your participation at any time. If you have any questions please contact me or my research supervisor using in the information below.

When filling out the survey, please put down your first response - don't over think this.

Consent Form

Researcher: Charles Abreu

acharles@andrews.edu

Research Supervisor: Dr. Karl Bailey

Behavioral Sciences Department

8488 E Campus Circle Dr.

Berrien Springs, MI 49104-0030

kgbailey@andrews.edu

269-471-3152

Purpose:

Many philosophical arguments about free will have, at least implicitly, appealed to common sense notions of free will. However, we have only recently begun to study what the general public beleives about free will. A number of studies from our lab and others have looked at different beliefs that people have about human nature. We have found that people in communities share belief structures--but that those may vary from community to community. For example, some communities want to include notions of God and religions in their belief structures; others reject those notions strongly. While data has been collected online in the past, it was never collected in an online community setting. This study seeks gather a broader sample from differing belief systems. We beleive that understanding how people think about human nature is important in discussions ranging from appropriate punishments in the justice system to online privacy and net neutrality.

Inclusion Criteria:

I have been told that for me to participate in this study I must be a member the Reddit community or have been referred by a member, be at least 18 years old, and a fluent English speaker.

Procedure:

I have been informed of the following: I will be asked to answer questions pertaining to, my beliefs about human nature, including beleifs about free will, determinism, and human nature. I will be asked to respond to 61 statements by rating them on a 5 point scale ranging from completely agree to completely disagree. I have been told that in its entirety, this should take no longer than 30 minutes from the start of the first question.

Risks and Discomforts:

I have been told that there are no known risks for participating in this study. I have been told that data collected from this experiment will be analyzed as a group, rather than individual, data and that no identifying information will be collected. This survey is anonymous.

Benefits and Results:

I understand that I may not receive any direct benefits from participating in this study. I understand that the information collected during this study may be presented or published in professional meetings, journals, or as a part of undergraduate research forums on a university campus, as well as summarized on this subreddit.

Voluntary Participation:

I have been told that my participation in this study is voluntary. I have been told that I may discontinue my participation in this study at any time without any penalty or prejudice.

I have been told that I may contact the researcher, Charles Abreu (see contact information above) or the research supervisor, Dr. Karl Bailey (see contact information above). I have been told that if I wish to contact and impartial third party about concerns with this study, I may contact the Chair of the Behavioral Sciences Department at mcbride@andrews.edu for information and assistance.

I have read the contents of this consent form. Any questions have been answered to my satisfaction. I hereby give voluntary consent to participate in this study. If I have additional questions or concerns, I may contact Charles Abreu using the information above. If I wish to retain a copy of the consent form, it may be printed from this page.

By clicking the 'Next' button below I hereby agree that I have read all the above statements and agree to them.