inconsistent SL behavior re. typed input

Experiment records typed input. SL will 1. skip to next trial when one key is pressed even though it should wait for a string, and 2. stick on typing in letters (it will allow typing a string, but very very slowly; this is not a problem with the keyboard). This behavior is not predictable: different trials have different problems with different runs of the experiment.

This experiment shows a picture, picture goes, plays an audio file with a new picture, then accepts input at the end of the audio file.

Thank you!

From what I have been able to figure out (and from what I have heard from other people) is that you can have one type of response or the other. That being, either single key responses or string input. Otherwise, you get the ‘sticking key’ problem.

It takes some careful setting up, but it’s certainly possible to use single key responses and string input in the same experiment, though not within the same event.

Simply enabling both input options will cause “contention”, meaning both input plug-ins in SuperLab will try to access the physical keyboard at the same time. This would result in, on average, half the keystrokes being captured by one input plug-in and half by the other.

To resolve this, you need to do two things:

[LIST=1]

  • Click on the [B]Experiment[/B] menu and select [B]Participant Input[/B]. The Participant Input dialog appears. Click on “Keyboard-Single Keys” to select it, then click on the [B]Options[/B] tab. Under the section “Look for Single Key Response From Participants”, turn on the option [B]Only if an even designates a single key response as a correct[/B].
  • Repeat the same steps for “Keyboard-String Input”.
  • For every event that accepts input, make sure that a correct response is indeed specified (otherwise SuperLab will go into an endless loop). [/LIST]

    You also need to follow these steps if using “Keyboard-String Input” and “Mouse or Touch Screen” in the experiment because both plug-ins will access the mouse at the same time.