For students who are enrolled in or have previously taken classes in the psychology department, you know of the research pool participation hours. This fall, my Intro to Social Psychology class introduced me to this requirement in the syllabus, which has students “earn ‘6 credits’ of approved research-related activities.” The credits translate to one hour of a study, which can be fulfilled through in-person or online tests via a designated website. When these opportunities become available, students can sign up for specific time slots and earn credits.
With the knowledge that I would have to complete these credit hours as a percentage of my class grade, I made sure to keep my eyes peeled for potential opportunities. One day before my fall advising meeting, I was waiting at Nau Hall before the appointment. As I glanced around at the walls outside the room, I happened to spot a pull-tab flyer amongst various announcements about clubs and upcoming events. This one called for participants for UVA’s Long Term Memory Lab’s EEG study, which I figured would be a convenient way to get some of the participant pool hours done. I ripped one of the tabs with the lab’s email on it and stuffed it unceremoniously in my backpack.
Later, I unfurled the crumpled up slip and remembered to send an email to express my interest. When they got back to me, they explained first what an EEG study was (“an experiment [that] uses a cap and gel to stick electrodes to your head”) and what the study was for (“to measure brain activity while individuals view words, images, and/or videos”). Unfortunately, I found out that this particular study could not grant me research pool credits since it was paid. After some deliberation, I decided to let the lab know I was still interested because I thought it could be an interesting opportunity. Especially considering that I had done one last year and I wanted to see how this one would be different. The correspondence over the next week consisted of scheduling a screening before the EEG, which ended up being a brief call going over my information and what was to be expected…