Information Sheet
What Makes You Tick? Individual Differences in Life Choices, Social Motives, and Romantic Preferences
You have been invited to participate in a research study designed by the School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, on behalf of a student project. Participants must be over the age of 18 to take part. Please take some time to read the information below, outlining the aims and background of the study along with other key details regarding your personal information. Once you have read the information below you can decide if you would like to participate in our study.
Study aim
The aim of this study is to investigate individuals' life choices, such as deciding to marry or deciding whether to have children or not. People tend to have varied stances surrounding these topics. Many people have positive feelings towards marriage, and some look forward to ‘tying the knot’, while others never plan to get married at all. Likewise, for some individuals it is very clear that children would be part of their life plan. Others have not decided yet, or have mixed feelings. Then again, for some, it is clear that having children and parenthood are not for them. In this study, we want to find out how broad life choices relate to how people see themselves and what they prioritise in their lives and relationships.
Background of the study
A multitude of research has demonstrated how people have different opinions surrounding typical and atypical life choices dependent on their own personal preferences and circumstances. As researchers, we are interested in how individual differences (such as personality, social motives and preferences for a romantic partner) are linked to individual life choices, especially the decision to have children or not. In addition, we are interested in everyday conversations centred on having children or not.
Participation is voluntary
Participation is completely voluntary. There will be no negative consequences following a decline to participate. While filling out the survey, you can withdraw anytime by just closing your browser. However, once you have completed and submitted the survey, you will not be able to withdraw from the study anymore as the information will be completely anonymised.
Who are we looking for?
We are interested in looking into people’s different life choices and experiences. Therefore, we are trying to recruit a broad sample from the general population. The only requirements for taking part are being over the age of 18 and English-speaking.
What will happen in the study?
After agreeing to participate, you will be asked to complete a survey including some demographic information and several questionnaires. The survey will be utilised to gain an insight into individual life choices and plans, personality and your priorities in life and relationships, as well as experiences in everyday life. Completion of the survey should take approximately 15-25 minutes.
Are there any disadvantages/risks to participating?
We foresee no risks to participating in this survey. However, some participants may find some questions insensitive and direct, which may cause temporary emotional distress. To combat this potential issue, we have included a ‘prefer not to say' option in questions not deemed as essential.
How will this benefit me?
There is no intended direct positive effect of participating in this study. We hope that you find participation interesting though and have done our best to make the survey enjoyable. As an incentive, at the very end of the survey, you have the opportunity to receive an individualised feedback on some of your personality traits.
Confidentiality
Your responses throughout the survey cannot be traced back to you as we will not request personal information (e.g., name, signature, address), therefore your identity will be kept anonymous. All the information provided will be confidential throughout the study. It will not be possible for you to be identified in any published reporting of the data. Note that, for the purposes of open and transparent science, the fully anonymised data may be shared with other researchers and through a publicly accessible online data repository (e.g., the Open Science Framework; OSF).
Who is organising and funding the research?
Queen’s University Belfast, School of Psychology.
What to do now?
Please complete the survey questionnaire if you are willing to part take in this study.
Contact for further information
If you have any queries or concerns, or simply require more information, please do not hesitate to contact the researchers behind this study.
Principal Investigators:
Dr. Tanja Gerlach (t.gerlach@qub.ac.uk)
M.Sc. Ceri Welsh (cwelsh01@qub.ac.uk)
Undergraduate Researchers:
Alexandra Taylor (ataylor35@qub.ac.uk)
Cormac Quinn (cquinn160@qub.ac.uk)
Ebony-Jane McCourt (emccourt07@qub.ac.uk)
Emily Rowntree (erowntree02@qub.ac.uk)
Gejin Lai (glai01@qub.ac.uk)
Lucy Patterson (lpatterson33@qub.ac.uk)
Niamh McClelland (nmcclelland11@qub.ac.uk)
Orlagh Kelly (okelly27@qub.ac.uk)
Sinéad Lavery (slavery38@qub.ac.uk)
Taylor Swain (tswain02@qub.ac.uk)
Queen´s University Belfast
School of Psychology
David Keir Building
18-30 Malone Road
Belfast, BT9 5BN
This study has been granted full ethical approval from Queen’s University Belfast.
Thank you for taking the time to read this information and for your participation in this study.
