Panel volunteers helped me with a study looking at how people remain on topic when they speak. We recorded participants speaking about a series of subjects and asked them to complete some tests of knowledge and thinking skills. We found that people who were skilled at ignoring irrelevant information were most likely to stay on topic, while those who were more knowledgeable were more likely to change the subject. Some volunteers later chose to have a brain scan where we investigated which brain regions contribute to these effects.
Dr. Paul Hoffman, Lecturer in Psychology

Panel volunteers have taken part in my doctoral studies in which I am investigating human recognition memory, an ability that allows people to correctly recognised previously encountered events. When the process fails, it gives rise to false recognition, in which people incorrectly remember something that they have never encountered. In my studies I am interested in understanding whether false recognition is driven by perceptual and/or semantic similarity between objects (i.e., what they look like vs. what their function is). We have found that older adults are more prone to false recognition than young adults, especially when semantic similarity is high.
Loris Naspi, PhD student in Psychology

Panel volunteers helped me with an online study looking at age differences in how ambiguous images can lead to false memories. Our study required younger adults (aged 18-30) and older adults (aged 60-75) and a number of panel volunteers were kind enough to volunteer. Participants completed an online task in which they saw a series of ambiguous images of objects. After a short filler task, they were shown a subset of the images they had studied previously along with new images and were asked to indicate whether they had seen each image before. We found that both younger and older adults were more influenced by perceptual properties than semantic properties when experiencing false memories. This effect was significantly higher among older adults, suggesting that older people experience more false memories because they process the perceptual details of images less well.
Elinor, undergraduate psychology student

What types of research can panel members take part in?
Our researchers investigate all aspects of thought and behaviour, including memory, attention, language, perception and social behaviour. The range of studies is therefore very varied. A typical study could involve completing a questionnaire online, or visiting the university campus on George Square to complete some computerised tests. Volunteers can decide if they wish to be contacted about online studies, in-person studies or both.

Who is conducting the research?
All research studies are supervised by academic members of staff in the School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences and are approved by the School’s ethics committee. Studies are often student projects conducted by senior undergraduate or postgraduate students.

What will happen if I join the panel?
If you want to enrol in the panel, you can create an account through this website. We will ask for your contact details and some information about you. This helps us to match potential participants with appropriate studies.

How will I find out about new studies?
You will receive an email when we have a new study that you may be suitable for. This will include some information about the study and a link to click if you are interested in taking part. For online studies, you will usually be able to take part straight away. For in-person studies, your contact details will be passed onto the study researchers who will get in touch to arrange a suitable appointment.

How often will I be contacted?
This can vary throughout the year, depending on the number of studies being planned.

How long do studies take to complete?
This depends on the study but is typically between 30 and 90 minutes. You will be given information about the expected length of a study before deciding whether you want to take part.

Will I be rewarded for my participation?
This varies from study to study. Some studies are able to provide financial or other incentives to participants; others rely on people taking part on a voluntary basis. In all cases, we are grateful to our participants for taking the time to support our research.

Am I obliged to take part in every study?
No, it is entirely up to you to decide which you studies you want to be involved in.

What if I change my mind?
All studies provide the option for you to withdraw from the study at any point. In addition, should you no longer wish to be a member of the panel, you can unsubscribe or delete your account by logging into the website.

How does the system work?
When you sign up and agree for us to contact you, we will email you invitations to studies. You can read some information about these studies before deciding if you wish to take part. Every email has accept, decline and unsubscribe links so you can easily chose which option you would like to take. You can also log into your account and accept or decline invitations from there.

Whom can I contact for more information?
If you have any questions about the panel, you are welcome to contact our Participant Researcher Co-ordinator [volunteer.panel@ed.ac.uk].