Volunteer to be a research participant  

Volunteer to be a research participant

In order to participate in an experiment in one of our on-going research projects we will ask you about a few criteria before volunteering, such as:

  • HANDEDNESS: We usually recruit right-handed participants.
  • AGE: Many studies have an age requirement of 18-28.
  • LANGUAGE HISTORY: Exposure to more than one language before the age of 6 disqualifies participants from some studies. Did your mom, dad, siblings and caregivers speak only English to you as a baby and small child?
  • EYESIGHT: It is preferable not to wear contact lenses during an experiment. If you usually wear contacts you can bring your glasses to the experiment.

For some studies we need bilinguals, deaf participants, left-handed or older hearing participants.

What to expect

  • Once you have arrived at the lab, you will read and sign a consent form and fill out a background questionnaire.
  • Then 15-25 minutes of setup begins.
  • Setup is a non-invasive process where an elastic electrode cap (like a swimming cap) will be placed on the head, and conducting gel will be massaged onto the scalp. This water-based gel can easily be rinsed out of the hair in the lab after the experiment but we advise that you plan for messy hair after the experiment.
  • You will be given directions for the experimental task and have a short training session.
  • Then the experiment begins. Our experiments generally run from 30 to 50 minutes.
  • Participants are thanked for their time with monetary compensation or occasionally class credit.

Email us at neurocoglab@sdsu.edu if you would like us to contact you for a study.