Security cameras

Staff, students and general public needed for study

3 min read

Volunteers will be asked to imagine that they are a new surveillance officer for the Government. They will be given a surveillance mission locally in Portsmouth and will then be interviewed about it. Depending on the condition they are allocated to, they will either recall truthfully what happened or will be required to lie about some aspects.

What will participants be doing?

Volunteers will be asked to imagine that they are a new surveillance officer for the Government. They will be given a surveillance mission locally in Portsmouth to complete and will be asked to try and do this without the ‘target of interest’ being aware they are following them.

Volunteers will then be interviewed regarding what they have experienced and witnessed during the surveillance mission. Depending on the condition they are allocated to, volunteers will be asked to either recall truthfully what happened or will be required to lie about some aspects.

Before the interview, volunteers will complete a short questionnaire and will be given as much time as they like to prepare for the interview. The interview will be held in King Henry Building and will be audio recorded and later transcribed.

Duration

Approximately 90 minutes.

Apply

To apply for the study, please contact the experimenter Oliwia Dabrowna (oliwia.dabrowna@port.ac.uk).

If you have any questions, you should contact Oliwia Dabrowna (oliwia.dabrowna@port.ac.uk) or the Co-Investigator Haneen Deeb (haneen.deeb@port.ac.uk).

Participant characteristics:

  • staff, students and the general public
  • any gender
  • aged 18+
  • able to engage in activities (requires walking) near the department
  • good grasp of English (the interview will be conducted in English).

The surveillance task will involve following a target of interest and as such, keeping up with them. Therefore, this could feasibly present difficulties for individuals with reduced mobility. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact the experimenter.

Reward

Participants will receive £15 for their time. They may also be entered in a cash draw to win prizes worth £150 (first prize); £75 (second prize) or £50 (third prize). Additionally, if the target is not aware that they were followed, the volunteer will be entered into a draw for ‘best surveillance officer’ whereby they can win prizes worth £150 (first prize); £75 (second prize) or £50 (third prize).

Location

Department of Psychology, King Henry's Building, King Henry I Street, Portsmouth, PO1 2DY

Closing date

20 July 2023.

Ethics code: SHFEC 2022-081