Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT Collective Prediction Study

  • Would you like to earn money while having fun?
    The MIT Center for Collective Intelligence seeks volunteers to participate in “Collective Prediction” games where groups of people and computers will try to make predictions about uncertain future events. Think you know something about football? Come to our lab, watch some football, and see how well you can predict what the teams will do! Unfortunately, we can only allow you to participate once in this experiment.

  • When?
    Upcoming study dates and times are as follows:
    - Please consult http://web.mit.edu/brl/ to learn about upcoming dates and times.

    To participate, sign up using the SONA system at http://web.mit.edu/brl/. For more details on how to sign up, refer to the "How?" section below. Check the most updated schedule in the SONA system after you have registered

  • Where?
    Building E19, 4th floor, Suite 435 at 400 Main Street (it's across from Legal Sea Food in Kendall Square).

  • How?
    To participate, click on http://web.mit.edu/brl/ and follow the link to the Experiment Management System, located on the left side of the page, to register for an account and sign up for the study. If no time slots are available, the study is full. But we are adding sessions from time to time and as people sometimes cancel their participation, so we encourage you to check often, as new openings will become available.

    You will receive a confirmation email once successfully signed up for the study--this may take several minutes. If you do not receive a confirmation email, you are not signed up. And people who are not signed up cannot participate in the study.  

    After signing up, you will receive an ID number from SONA Systems, the designer of the software that manages the pool of volunteers. Please make sure to bring this SONA ID to the study session. If you do not have your ID, you will not be able to take part in the session.

  • Payment Policy*
    Payment will be granted as follows (max of $70):
    - $10 on-time arrival payment
    - $30 participation payment
    - $30 potential bonus based on performance in the experiment
    We will pay up to $70 for your participation in this study. This includes a base fee of $40 ($10 on time-arrival + $30 participation). There is a bonus of up to $30, based on your performance in the experiment. If we cannot run the session (due to participants who do not come as scheduled) or cannot include a participant for any reason, we guarantee to pay you the $10 on-time arrival payment if you arrived on time.

  • Questions?
    For more information, you can refer to our description of the Collective Prediction research and a July 2008 Boston Phoenix article. And feel free to contact us at cci.experiments@mit.edu if you have specific questions.

*MIT's payment policy adheres to IRS requirements, which mandate that regardless of the dollar amount, payments made to Human Subjects who are nonresident aliens must be paid by check and must be reported on Form 1042-S: Foreign Person's U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding. All payments to nonresident aliens are subject to 30% federal income tax and 3% state income tax withholding. Individuals receiving such payments be able to claim exemption from federal and state income tax withholding under a United States tax treaty; thus, payments may be exempt from withholding if a tax treaty exists with the country of residency of the nonresident alien. MIT is not and cannot be aware of or liable to any person's personal tax considerations. To obtain more detailed information on potential tax liabilities, please consult www.irs.gov or a tax advisor. Due to special withholding and reporting requirements, we cannot make cash or cash equivalent payments (such as gift cards/certificates) to nonresident aliens.