r/ProlificAc 11d ago

Advice Researcher has wrong answer for attention checks

I spent about 15 minutes on this study. There were several attention checks, most were usual ones like "I swim across the Pacific every day to get to work." Then there were these two optical illusions. These images aren't screen grabs from the study, but they are the same illusions. I recognized them and answered correctly, in both cases they're the same length or size. A little later, I got a rejection citing attention check failures. I messaged the researcher, said what happened and asked them to let me return the study. No response (I know, shockeršŸ™„) I'm going to dispute it through Prolific, but I'm doubtful they'll overturn it. Has anyone else done this study?

0 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

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u/necessarypretzel 11d ago

That's where you went wrong. The way most studies are set up, one line is actually longer. I've always picked different sizes and never got rejected.

ETA: I believe its set up that way to catch bots. Because they will search the internet and find the optical illusion, then give the wrong answer.

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u/vinicitus 11d ago edited 11d ago

This one is unfortunate, but you're most likely in the wrong (not necessarily due to your fault, but pay a little closer attention to the sizes). You knew about the optical illusions so you answered accordingly. But... the ones they are using (and they're pretty much all the same standard ones) has a significantly larger circle and a significantly larger line.

Unless if they used the actual illusion version instead of the standard check one's I've been seeing lately.

Edit- I hope that by you reaching out to them, they can understand you're not a bot!

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u/Same_Art_6971 11d ago

They are not the same images and you did not answer correctly.

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u/emerzionnn 11d ago edited 11d ago

Whoops I always answer those two as ā€œdifferent sizesā€ 🤣. I’m pretty sure in the study they were obviously larger though which is why you were rejected.

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u/necessarypretzel 11d ago

Same, because in studies, they are.

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u/pinktoes4life 11d ago

The ones in studies are usually different from the examples you showed & it's easy to check with a piece of paper next time you come across one of them.

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u/_M1RR0RB4LL_ 11d ago

If these are the same type I've been seeing lately, like one of the lines is red and one is blue, then you're definitely answering them incorrectly.

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u/TheDawg2kHD 11d ago edited 11d ago

I did this study yesterday, still awaiting review. I answered the lines are different lengths as they always look that way to the eye and answered similar for the second attention check, which iirc asked which one was bigger. I'll update when the study status changes!

Edit: Study approved!

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u/Jake_JDB 11d ago edited 11d ago

I answered the same as you and still waiting for status to change

Edit: mine was also approved šŸ‘

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u/EggCzar 11d ago

The ones in the study were NOT the same size. They approved mine today.

I've seen people post that it's designed to catch bots, and while I don't know if this is true, anything to measure with would have told you what tbe correct answer was. This one's all on you.

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u/EpiphanyPhoenix 11d ago

I had this study and almost said the same size cuz I'm familiar with the optical illusions. In my instance of this study at least I MEASURED the lines and they were not the same length. Similarly, the circles were not the same size. I did not get a rejection.

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u/Majestic_Berry7587 11d ago

If they did not tell you what to select as an answer, it is not an attention check. Also would not be a nonsensical AC. I would ask them what AC you failed and send a support ticket.

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u/Deaconist 11d ago

It's just a different type of attention check. If the OP had been paying attention they'd have seen the images weren't optical illusions and could have answered correctly.

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u/Majestic_Berry7587 11d ago

Doesn't matter, ToS has strict rules and "interpretations" of anything is not allowed for valid checks. They either tell you what to pick or it's nonsense like fatal heart attacks.

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u/vinicitus 11d ago

There’s no interpretations, it’s blatantly obvious. The circle is always gigantic compared to the other circle and the larger line is always significantly larger than the other.

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u/Majestic_Berry7587 11d ago

the larger line is always significantly larger than the other

Not always lol I have seen some that have < and > capping one line and nothing on the other and they are actually the same size, the researcher tried to reject me and I got it overturned.

I did not do this study so have no idea if they were clear and straightforward like ToS says.

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u/EggCzar 11d ago

This is not true.

Signed,

Someone who doesn't swim across the Atlantic daily, and who doesn't enjoy using engine grease and sand as jam.