Informed consent
Version of 16 August 2026. This is the text that appears in the study itself. If the text is changed, the version displayed in the study interface is the one that applies.
The aim of the VAL study is to increase knowledge of human behavior and decision making. Your participation is completely voluntary. The study is led by scientists at the University of Iceland in collaboration with an international team of experts from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics in Germany, the University of Warsaw in Poland, and Harvard University in the United States. The principal investigator and guarantor of the project is Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir, professor at the University of Iceland. The data controller for the processing of personal data in this study is the University of Iceland. Questions about data protection may be directed to the Data Protection Officer of the University of Iceland, currently Magnús Jökull Sigurjónsson, mjs@hi.is, tel. +354 525 4052. Questions about the study and participation may be directed to the research team, rannsoknin.val@hi.is, tel. +354 525 4545 (Social Science Research Institute, University of Iceland). The study is financed by the Icelandic Research Fund and carried out with the support of and in cooperation with our collaborators: Katla Fitness, Reykjavik Municipality, and Almenningssamgöngur höfuðborgarsvæðisins Public Transportation (Strætó).
The study protocol was submitted to the Ethical Review Committee Inner City Faculties at Maastricht University, which concluded on 25 May 2026 that there were no ethical objections to the execution of the research project.
If you choose to participate, we ask you to complete an online study that is likely to take between 15 and 45 minutes. How long it actually takes depends partly on your answers. Some participants might answer all parts of the study, while others may answer only some parts. The following parts may be included in the study for you:
- Questions on your background, attitudes, and habits.
- A spinning wheel where you have the possibility to purchase a pass from our collaborators (the Reykjavik swimming pools, Strætó public transport, Katla Fitness gym chain, or the Reykjavik Culture Card) for a discounted price. If you end up purchasing a pass, the purchase will take place in the online study interface. The price of the pass, and whether a purchase takes place at all, is determined by the spinning wheel, but will never exceed the maximum amount you report being willing to pay.
- Choice tasks where you can receive a monetary payout as large as 15,000 ISK. Whether you receive a payment and the amount paid out depends on your choices and a random draw.
Note that the following applies:
- You have 24 hours to complete the study. The countdown started when you logged in with your electronic ID. Within these 24 hours, you can close the study interface at any time and log in again with your electronic ID to continue. After that time, access closes and further participation is not possible.
- Important: If you are eligible for a monetary payout, that payout will only take place if you complete the whole study within these 24 hours.
- However, once you have purchased a pass, failing to finish the remainder of the study within 24 hours does not affect your purchase — the pass is yours.
- It is generally not possible to go back in the study interface. It is therefore important to consider answers carefully before continuing, especially because actual discounts and actual payments may depend on your choices between different options presented to you in the study.
This is a pilot version of the VAL study. The final version of the study is planned for the autumn of 2026. If you participate in the pilot version, you cannot participate in the final version of the study later this autumn.
If you have questions about your rights as a participant in the study or wish to opt out, you can email us at rannsoknin.val@hi.is or call +354 525 4545 (Social Science Research Institute, University of Iceland).
Warning: The study includes a spinning wheel and random draws. For individuals with a gambling addiction, this may resemble gambling and could act as a trigger. If you have or have had a gambling addiction, you should consider this before deciding whether to participate. For help with gambling problems, contact the gambling addiction team at SÁÁ: spilavandi@saa.is or +354 530 7600.
Please read the terms and conditions carefully before agreeing to them.
Data security
The study is carried out in accordance with the Act on Data Protection and the Processing of Personal Data 90/2018.
Data protection
All data collected in the study is stored pseudonymously, using encrypted personal identifiers, in a research database. Analysis always takes place in that database, which contains no directly identifiable information such as names or personal ID numbers. The encryption key is stored separately and securely by the University of Iceland’s IT Service, and will only be used for the purposes described below. Researchers do not have access to the encryption key. No personally identifiable information will appear in published results, and all data will be treated as confidential. Your participation in the study and the general processing of the research data are based on your informed consent. You can withdraw your informed consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out on the basis of the consent before its withdrawal. If you withdraw your consent, any further handling of your personal data that is based on the consent will be stopped. If you believe that the handling of your personal data is not in accordance with the law, you have the right to file a complaint with the Icelandic Data Protection Authority (Persónuvernd).
Linking with usage data
Data from the study will be linked to databases with information on usage of the purchased service. Since usage data is stored on personal ID numbers, linking requires temporary decryption of the encrypted personal identifiers. Utmost security is maintained in that process.
Other possible data linkage
In the future, we may seek to link your pseudonymized responses to other data sources (e.g., educational, tax, or health records, or data from sources such as genetic and genealogical data or surveys) for research purposes. Any such linkage will only be carried out where there is a lawful basis and after obtaining any approvals, permissions, or consultations required under applicable law from the relevant ethics committee(s), data holder(s), and/or the Icelandic Data Protection Authority (Persónuvernd). If a future project falls within the scope of the Act on Scientific Research in the Health Sector 44/2014, approval from the National Bioethics Committee (Vísindasiðanefnd) or another competent health-research ethics committee will be obtained before the linkage takes place. Again, such linkage requires personal identifiers to be temporarily unencrypted. You will generally not be contacted again for consent for such linkage, but you may withdraw your permission for future linkage at any time by contacting the research team.
Access and international data sharing
To promote scientific transparency and reproducibility, pseudonymized data from this study will be made available to qualified researchers worldwide through a controlled-access repository. Researchers affiliated with recognized research institutions may apply for access. This means your pseudonymized data may be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), including to countries that may not provide the same level of data protection as Iceland or the EU. Such transfers will be conducted in accordance with Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), using appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, or relying on adequacy decisions where applicable (e.g., the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework). No directly identifiable information will be shared.
Limited use of identifiable personal information
Although data collected in this study will be stored and analyzed in coded, pseudonymized form, a few limited situations call for certain personal information to be used or shared in identifiable form in order to administer the study, arrange purchased passes, process payments, comply with tax reporting obligations, or send you information you have asked to receive. In these cases, only the information needed for that specific purpose will be used.
Pass activation
If a purchase of a pass occurs, the information necessary to create the pass (such as your personal identification number, name, email address, home address, phone number, and gender) will be shared with the relevant collaborator.
Information provided to participants
At the end of the study, you may choose to receive information about your own behavioral results later, i.e., after the completion of the study. If you choose to receive this information, your encrypted identifier must be temporarily decrypted in order to send the results.
Payment card information
As part of your participation in the study, you will be required to submit your payment card information in a secure interface related to the potential purchase of a pass at a discounted price. The payment card information will not be stored by the research team; rather, it will be deleted directly within the secure payment interface provided by the payment processor once payment has gone through (in case of a purchase) or payment authorization has been canceled (in case of no purchase).
Payment authorization
Before a purchase is made, you are requested to provide your payment card number and specify the maximum price you are willing to pay for the pass in question. The system requests authorization for that amount. You can only continue your participation if the authorization goes through, as you commit to paying up to the authorized amount. If a purchase is made, the purchase amount is always lower than or equal to your reported maximum price.
Personal ID number (kennitala) and bank account number
If you receive payment in the study, you will be required to provide your bank account number. Your unencrypted personal ID number (kennitala) and bank account number will be stored securely until all transfers to you have been completed, which may be up to four months after participation in the study. As soon as all payments have been made, your bank account number will be deleted.
Security and confidentiality
We place strong emphasis on security and confidentiality in the handling of all information. Payment card information will be handled securely by our payment processor, Verifone (on behalf of Landsbankinn). Landsbankinn, as the acquirer, complies with international PCI DSS security standards to ensure privacy and data security.
Pre-reporting to tax authorities
If you receive a payment related to your participation in the study, the amount will be reported to the tax authorities and will appear in next year’s tax return. For this reason, information about the amount paid to you and your personal identification number will be stored until the tax reporting process has been completed.
Participation in other studies
We may contact you in the future to invite you to participate in follow-up studies or other research projects related to the VAL study. Such contact will be made using the email address and/or phone number you provide in this study. Any future participation will be voluntary, and receiving an invitation does not oblige you to take part. You may ask us at any time not to contact you again for this purpose by emailing rannsoknin.val@hi.is.