Wogalter, M.S., Howe, J.E., Sifuentes, A.H., Luginbuhl, J. (1999) On the adequacy of legal documents: factors that influence informed consent. Ergonomics 42 (4), 593-613.

Wogalter, M.; Howe, J.;Sifuentes, A.; Luginbuhl, J.

1999

Wogalter, M.S., Howe, J.E., Sifuentes, A.H., Luginbuhl, J. (1999) On the adequacy of legal documents: factors that influence informed consent. Ergonomics 42 (4), 593-613.

studie 3

People are frequently asked to make commitments by signing contracts, consent forms and other legal documents. Although it is prudent to read these forms carefully, people sometimes do not do so. The present research sought to assess some of the factors related to the usability of legal documents. In study 1, participants reported that they had signed a variety of legal documents that they did not fully read or understand. They also identified characteristics that hinder understanding and offered suggestions for improvement. In study 2, another group of participants rated those characteristics and confirmed the first study's findings. Study 3 measured the effects of three different research participation consent forms: conventional 'legalistic', improved, and one-line (control). Results showed that the improved form significantly enhanced comprehension compared to the conventional form and both were higher than the control. Even though comprehension with the conventional legalistic consent form was poor, all but one person signed it, agreeing to participate in a potentially risky activity. However, given the improved form, participants tended to take advantage of a stated option of doing a less risky activity. Study 4 found that consent form comprehension was greater when: (a) the form appeared to be more informal as compared to more official looking; (b) there was less time pressure compared to greater time pressure; and (c) there was an accompanying oral recitation of the consent form. Implications of these results are discussed.

The results show that the form or style of a legal document can influence the knowledge that people acqire from them as well as their impressions about how well the information was communicated to them. Specifically, these results support the suggestion for improving legal forms described in study 1 and 2, but because the improved form comprised several factors, it is not possible to tell from this experiment which factors were most influential in aiding comprehension.

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