Implementation Details
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This page describes how our lab implemented the procedures required by the official protocol for the RRR. It also describes and justifies any additions to or departures from that protocol. You can view the official protocl and the main project page for this RRR using these links:
- Official Protocol: [https://osf.io/6wvj4/][1]
- Main RRR project page: [https://osf.io/hgi2y/][2]
- Project page with all materials: [https://osf.io/pkd65/][3]
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#### Experimenters ####
Stephen Benning, PhD., Primary Author, expertise in human emotion and psychopathology
Christin Nance, Secondary Author
Nicholas Carfango, Research Assistant
All investigators have completed the National Institutes of Health human participants training online and have reviewed the protocol of the study in question. The study protocol was approved by the University of Nevada Las Vegas Institutional Review Board (IRB) in July 2015.
Investigators will further review the protocol for the replication in weekly lab meetings conducted by Dr. Benning and participate in mock trial runs prior to the beginning of the study in August 2015.
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#### Setting/Lab/Equipment ####
Photos of the laboratory that the study will be conducted in are uploaded in the "files" section. All of the photos were taken recently, but the diagram that is included with the photos is of the lab right after it was built. One of the testing stations that we will be using is now a little closer to the door (16’ even in distance). The rest of the measurements on the diagram are consistent with the lab’s current state. The desks have ample room for writing, as requested. The testing station is private (the participant will not feel as if he/she is being watched) and we will have a "Study in Session" sign outside our laboratory door to make sure the participant will not be interrupted while he/she is testing.
The computers will be Dell Optiplex 9020, running Windows 7. The video camera will be Logitech HD Portable 1080p Webcam C615 with Autofocus. We plan on mounting the cameras on top of the monitors but will change the position if necessary. The pens will be Sharpie 37001WM Ultra Fine Point Permanent Marker (black), which have been tested in the lab for effectiveness in both positions (both “lip” and “teeth”). Alcohol swabs will be provided for participants for sanitation purposes.
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#### Sample, subjects, and randomization ####
**Target sample size:**
150
**Target sample demographics:**
The total enrollment at University of Nevada Las Vegas is approximately 28,515 (45% male, 55% female, 54% minorities). Certain courses in the Psychology Department at UNLV offer extra credit if students obtain a certain amount of SONA credits through participation in research. This study offers the one SONA credit upon completion. Lower-level psychology classes such as PSY 101 in particular offer this opportunity for extra credit, which will allow for the retention of the diversity among students as this is a required course for all students in the College of Liberal Arts. Participants must be of 18 years in age but are not selected based on gender, race, or ethnicity.
**Minimum sample size after exclusions:**
100
**Stopping rule(s):**
Investigators will continuously review video footage, cartoon ratings, and be attentive to exit interviews in order to determine which subjects must be eliminated from the study in accordance to the exclusion criteria. We will schedule 150 participants, and if after no-shows and exclusions, there are fewer participants than the minimum sample size of 50 participants per condition, we will schedule additional participants. These additional participants will be assigned either the "teeth" or "lips" condition, consistently with our randomization procedure as detailed below.These additional participants will be scheduled until we have reached at least 50 participants per condition.
**Randomization to conditions:** Condition assignment, being in either the "lips" or "teeth" position, will be assigned on an every other participant basis. For example, subject one would be assigned "lips," subject two "teeth," subject three "lips," subject four "teeth," and so on in this alternating method. In the instance where additional participants must be tested due to the necessary exclusion of past trials, causing a deficit in the amount of viable trials in one or both conditions, the same method should be used until the minimum 50 participants per condition is acheived.
**Blinding to conditions:**
Participants will not be informed that other participants were instructed to hold the pen in their mouths in a different way. Because we are running up to two participants at a time, it is imperative that the the either participant was not aware that the other was in another condition until the conclusion of their participation. This is emphasized in the protocol.
**Exclusion rules:**
We will be using the exclusion criteria required by the official protocol. All data will be retained, but data from excluded participants will be indicated as such.
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#### Software/Code ####
We will be using the provided materials, and all will have been tested and verified on the cubicle computers prior to the start of the study.
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#### Differences from the official protocol ####
We will not be offering a reward for correctly guessing the research hypothesis; students will be compensated with SONA credit upon completing the experiment.
Revisions of the Informed Consent form were made to adhere to the wishes of the University of Las Vegas’s IRB committee (the revised Informed Consent Form is attached).
We added to the debriefing form a reiteration that students will receive 1 SONA credit even if they choose to withdraw from the study.
Upon the completion of the tasks detailed by the original protocol, subjects will complete the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, the lab’s psychopathy survey (which is subject to exempt review under IRBnet ID 711543-1) and the TIQue.These additional measurements are utilized in order to assess wether we can also find correlations between responses in the cartoons to levels of emotional intelligence (as examined by the TIQue), psychopathy (as examined by the psychopathy survey) or the different facets of personality (as examined in the MPQ). This will make each run take approximately 60 minutes in length, but the additional measures will not affect the replication as they are implemented only after the participant has completed the main protocol in its entirety. The protocol including these personality measurements is also attached along with the updated informed consent.
[1]: https://osf.io/6wvj4/
[2]: https://osf.io/hgi2y/
[3]: https://osf.io/pkd65/