Thank you for agreeing to participate in my dissertation research.
The study will consist of a short four-level single player game, followed by 3 short questionnaires. It should take no longer than 20 minutes to complete.
You can withdraw from the study at any time, and your data will not be recorded (simply by closing your browser window). The data from the study will be analysed as part of my dissertation project to produce a report, but no individual players' data will be identified.
To participate in the study you must be 18 years old or over, and live in the UK.
If you have any questions regarding the study, please contact the researcher: Bethany Graham - B.J.Graham1@newcastle.ac.uk
Please select a response.
How often do you play video games? (e.g. computer, console, mobile phone, tablet, Facebook etc.) Move the slider to where you feel is appropriate for you. |
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Do you remember which introduction you received at the beginning of the game? | |||||
What is the highest level of education you have completed? | |||||
What is your annual household income? (students should answer for their parents' household) | |||||
Which one of the following best describes the occupation of the chief income earner in your household? (students should answer for their parents' household) | |||||
Please select the response that is most appropriate.
To what extent do you have difficulty throwing things away? | ||||
How distressing do you find that task of throwing things away? | ||||
To what extent do you have so many things that your room(s) are cluttered? | ||||
How often do you try to avoid discarding possessions because it is too stressful or time consuming? | ||||
How distressed or uncomfortable would you feel if you could not acquire something you wanted? | ||||
How much of the living area in your home is cluttered with possessions? Consider the amount of clutter in your kitchen, living room, dining room, hallways bedrooms, bathrooms or other rooms. | ||||
How much does the clutter in your home interfere with your social, work or everyday functioning? Think about things that you don't do because of clutter. | ||||
How often do you feel compelled to acquire something you see? E.g when shopping or when being offered free things. | ||||
How strong is your urge to buy or acquire free things for which you have no immediate use? | ||||
How much control do you have over your urges to acquire possessions? | ||||
How often do you decide to keep things you do not need or have little space for? | ||||
To what extent does clutter prevent you from using parts of your home? | ||||
To what extent does the clutter in your home cause you distress? | ||||
How frequently does clutter in your home prevent you from inviting people to visit? | ||||
How often do you actually buy (or acquire for free) things you use or need? | ||||
How strong is your urge to save something that you would never use? | ||||
How much control do you have over your urges to save possessions? | ||||
How much of your home is difficult to walk through because of clutter? | ||||
How upset or distressed do you feel about your acquiring habits? | ||||
To what extent does the clutter in your home prevent you from using parts of your home for their intended purpose? For example, cooking, using furniture, washing dishes, cleaning, etc.? | ||||
To what extent do you feel unable to control the clutter in your home? | ||||
To what extent has your saving or compulsive buying resulted in financial difficulties for you? | ||||
How often are you unable to discard a possession you would like to get rid of? | ||||
The following statements refer to experiences many people have in their everyday lives. Select the option that best describes how much that experience has distressed or bothered you during the past month.
Not at all | A little | Moderately | A lot | Extremely | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
I save up so many things they get in the way | |||||
I check things more often than necessary | |||||
I get upset if objects are not arranged properly | |||||
I feel compelled to count while I am doing things | |||||
I find it difficult to touch an object when I know it has been touched by strangers or certain people | |||||
Not at all | A little | Moderately | A lot | Extremely | |
I find it difficult to control my thoughts | |||||
I collect things I don't need | |||||
I repeatedly check doors, windows and drawers etc. | |||||
I get upset if others change the way I have arranged things | |||||
I feel I have to repeat certain numbers | |||||
Not at all | A little | Moderately | A lot | Extremely | |
I sometimes have to wash or clean myself simply because I feel contaminated | |||||
I am upset by unpleasant thoughts that come into my mind against my will | |||||
I avoid throwing things away in case I might need them later | |||||
I repeatedly check the gas, water taps and light switches after turning them off | |||||
I need things to be arranged in a particular order | |||||
Not at all | A little | Moderately | A lot | Extremely | |
I feel that there are good and bad numbers | |||||
I wash my hands more often and longer than necessary | |||||
I frequently get nasty thoughts and have difficulty getting rid of them |
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems?
Not at all | Several days | More than half the days | Nearly every day | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Feeling nervous, anxious or on edge | ||||
Not being able to stop or control worrying | ||||
Worrying too much about different things | ||||
Trouble relaxing | ||||
Being so restless that it is hard to sit still | ||||
Becoming easily annoyed or irritable | ||||
Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen |
I am studying compulsive hoarding as my dissertation project and I am interested to see if collection behaviour can be elicited in the general population.
You received cues of scarcity and uncertainty (e.g. there is not enough to go around – in reality there is enough). I am interested to see if the cues of scarcity/uncertainty have caused participants to collect more stars than they need, or collect more of the other novel items such as the moons, bows or buttons.
You were in the control condition, however, participants in the experimental condition received cues of scarcity through the game. I hope to see if the cues of scarcity have caused participants to collect more stars than they need, or collect more of the other novel items such as the moons, bows or buttons.
If you have any further questions about the study, please do not hesitate to contact the researcher: Bethany Graham - B.J.Graham1@newcastle.ac.uk
If you are a Newcastle University Student, please enter your email address so we can award you research participation credits
Thanks again for taking part in my study.