What is Thinking and Behavior?

You can now share more about how you think and work, not just who you are. "Thinking and Behavior" is a new section on your About You page. Alongside the demographic questions you already answer, this section asks about the way you tend to think, approach tasks, and relate to other people. Each set of questions takes just a few minutes to complete.

These questions come from research questionnaires that scientists have tested to reliably measure how people think and behave in a consistent way. Just like the rest of your About You page, answering is entirely your choice.

Research isn’t only about who people are on paper. It's about how people think, feel, and act, and everyone does these things differently. These natural, lasting differences are what make research meaningful.

This is exactly where Prolific’s strength lies. Our greatest asset is the rich, diverse community of real people in our pool. When that community reflects the full range of human thinking and behavior, researchers can ask questions that a smaller, less diverse group simply couldn't answer.

This section is optional, but completing it helps us match you with studies that suit the way you think and work, and filters out ones that aren't a good fit. If you'd rather skip it for now, you can always come back to it through your About You page.

We calculate scores for various traits based on your answers. There are no right or wrong answers, and answering honestly, rather than how you think you should, is what gives you the best and most relevant study matches. Once submitted, you’ll be able to view your responses, but you won’t be able to change your answers or view your calculated scores. As with your other About You responses, these scores will only be linked to your Prolific participant ID - not your name or any other directly identifying details. Any information you provide will help improve your study matching.

It’s important to note that these scores are a reflection of who you are, not a measure of how good a participant you are. There's no such thing as an ideal profile; different studies need different kinds of thinkers, and what researchers are looking for will keep changing over time.

Researchers can see the calculated trait scores, not your individual answers to each question. They use these scores to find participants whose thinking and behavior fit their study. They can't see which specific responses led to your scores. Individual researchers, not Prolific, apply scores on a per-study basis. As with your other About You responses, this information is only shared by reference to your Prolific ID - not your name or any other directly identifying details.

At this time, we don’t display trait scores to participants as the way they’re calculated is still evolving. We’re also mindful that seeing the score could change the way that participants answer, making results less accurate.

As always, we’ll keep listening to participant feedback as this feature develops.

The tendencies this section describes are stable and consistent over time, rather than something that shifts from one day to the next. Your answers are meant to reflect the real, lasting you. Once you submit, you won't be able to go back and edit them, so it's worth giving each statement a little thought before you do. Take your time and answer as honestly as you can. That's what gets you matches with the most relevant studies.

Ready? Head to your About You page to complete the Thinking and Behavior section.

For full details of how Prolific handles your personal data, the legal basis we rely on, how long we keep it, who it may be shared with, and how to exercise any of your rights, please see Prolific's Privacy Notice.