Event Segmentation and Perception
You are being invited to take part in this research study. Before you decide whether or not to take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully.
This study aims to understand how attention and focus relate to the way people detect storyline changes in a short movie, and also how people make time estimation judgements. You will be asked to complete a questionnaire about your attention and how you manage daily tasks. These questions are used only for the purpose of this research, they cannot be used to diagnose problems with attention. You will then watch two videos. You will be asked to press the space bar on your computer when you notice places in the video where one meaningful piece of action ends and another begins. Finally, you will watch 10 short video clips and be asked to estimate how long you believe each lasted. The entirety of the study is expected to take 30 minutes to complete.
We aim to test 150-200 adults. To participate in this study, you must be aged between 18 to 59. You must also be fluent in English, have normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing, and be able to make responses via a keyboard. This study requires a laptop or desktop computer with a physical keyboard. Tablets and phones are not supported because you will need to press the space bar during the task. You have been invited to participate in this study as you have signed up for it on Testable Minds.
It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to take part, you will be able to download a PDF file of this information sheet to keep. You will be asked to confirm your consent on the next page. If you decide to take part, you are still free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason. Before you have completed the study, you can withdraw by closing the webpage. Any data collected up to that point will not be saved or used. If you wish to withdraw after completing the study, you can contact the researcher (fa550@sussex.ac.uk) with your unique participant ID (obtained from Testable Minds and only accessible to you) any time up until the results are analysed (up to four weeks after you complete the study). Your data will then be deleted.
You will first watch an instruction video that explains what you will do. You will then be asked questions about your age, gender, and highest level of qualification. Next, you will be asked to fill a 27-item questionnaire with items related to your attention, focus, and how you manage daily tasks. This will take about 5-7 minutes to complete. You will then watch a 2-minute practice video where you will press the space bar whenever you detect change between two events within the movie. You will then do the same task for another movie lasting 8 minutes. You will then watch 10 short clips (30–90 seconds long). After each clip, you will be asked to estimate how long the video lasted, rate how engaging you found the clip, and rate how confident you are about your time estimate. The entire study is expected to take 30 minutes to complete. You may take short breaks between tasks.
The questionnaire asks you to answer questions about your attention and focus, which is considered a special category of health data in the UK. However, these questions are for research purposes only and cannot be used to diagnose problems with attention. If you feel that answering these questions will make you feel uncomfortable or upset, then you should not take part in the study.
The movie clips used in this study are taken from films where some scenes contain mild suspense and action, but no graphic violence, distressing imagery, or sensitive content is shown. If you feel uncomfortable with a question or a movie scene, you can withdraw at any time by closing your browser window. Your data will not be saved.
Although there are no direct benefits to taking part in this study, you will be compensated for your time at a minimum rate of $8.00 USD per hour (approximately £6.20 GBP), adhering to the Testable Minds platform guidelines. You will also be contributing to research which helps us better understand how attention relates to time perception.
No personally identifying information such as your name, email address, or IP address will be collected. Demographic information such as age, gender, and highest level of qualification will be collected, but these cannot be used to identify you. Data from the study will be stored securely on a server located in the UK. Only the research team have access to the database.
Since you have been recruited through Testable Minds, which automatically assigns you a unique participant ID that is not linked to your personal details, your data will be fully anonymous. If you wish to withdraw your data after completing the study, you can contact the researcher (fa550@sussex.ac.uk) with your unique participant ID up to four weeks after completion. Your data will then be permanently deleted.
The results will be written into an MSc dissertation and may be published in a scientific journal. If you would like a summary of the findings, contact the researcher (fa550@sussex.ac.uk) after September 2026.
This research is being conducted by Farah Amayreh (fa550@sussex.ac.uk), an MSc student in the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex, under the supervision of Professor Chris Bird (Chris.Bird@sussex.ac.uk). The study is funded by the University of Sussex.
If you have any concerns, please contact Farah Amayreh (fa550@sussex.ac.uk), Professor Chris Bird (Chris.Bird@sussex.ac.uk), or the Chair of the Science and Technology Cross Schools Research Ethics Committee (crecscitec@sussex.ac.uk).
Date: April 2026 | Version: 1.0