More than Two Responses

Just as an update…

Is there a way to present the traditional simultaneous two-choice matching to sample with pictures and the mouse/touch screen option in such a way that participants must (1) first touch the sample stimulus (designated as correct for Event 1), (2) which triggers the two comparison stimuli to be simultaneously presented on the screen with the sample (as Event 2 and 3) BUT with touches to the sample not resulting in a correct response or incorrect response. Essentially, is there a way to deactivate the sample as a response area or reassign it as a third type of response (i.e., something other than the existing correct/incorrect or the time related options) for a subsequent event.

This would be about the same scenario presented by ChuckL on July 2008 so I’m wondering if any workabout may have arisen since then.

Unless there are extra steps you’ve left out, this isn’t the same as ChuckL’s question. As long as you aren’t trying to discriminate during the expiriment which of the two events is selected, this can be done. What you’ll do is simply mark the stimulus positions for Event 2 and Event 3 as the correct responses and configure that subsequent event to only end after a correct response. This will not work with the automatic stimulus position feature.

If you do have to discriminate whether the second response is correct or incorrect, this can still be done, but there are limitations, and you have to use the automatic stimulus position feature. The trick is that when you have correct response positions automatically adjusted based on a stimulus, the response gets repositioned for every trial. If your “sample” is in a separate trial from “Event 2” and “Event 3,” then you can use the same automatic stimulus position to mark the correct response in both trials. The original sample location will no longer be considered a valid response, so you can use the feature that ignores invalid responses to make sure nothing happens when the participant clicks/touches there.

This is a brief and vague overview. It may or may not work for you depending on other factors (e.g. it’s incompatible with randomizing trials), but based on the simple description you’ve given, it should be doable.

Thanks for your quick response so…

I’ll be more explicit…

Participant Input is set to Mouse/Touchscreen, for which there are three distinct mouse/touchscreen response areas (the sample, left comparison stimulus, and right comparison stimulus). I have tried every combination of setting the 3 aforementioned response areas to (a) automatically determined and (b) assigning specific x, y coordinates and length and width dimensions, but no modification results in it working the way you have described.

(1) Trial 1 Event 1 is a visual stimulus (the sample, which is shown exactly at the sample response area).
—Presentation options set to do nothing at the end of the event.
—It is set to end after a correct response from a participant.
—The correct response from a participant is set to touching the sample response area.
—Feedback is set to sounding an an auditory Event called the sample touched tone.
So the sample is presented on the screen and subjects must touch it, after which the sample tone sounds and the next event is presented with the sample remaining on the screen. The important part is that touching the sample visual stimulus/response location is a correct response in Trial 1 Event 1 but it should not be correct or incorrect in any subsequent Trial.

(2) Trial 2 Event 2 is a visual stimulus (the left comparison stimulus that is shown at the left comparison stimulus response area)
—Presentation options set to remain invisible
----It is set to end only after a time limit of 1 ms.
----No feedback set
----Correct responses set to the subject must not respond.
So these settings allow this stimulus to be presented at the same time as the final stimulus in Event 3 and it seems that altering the feedback or correct response settings have no effect at all.

(3) Trial 2 Event 3 is a visual stimulus (the right comparison stimulus that is shown at the right comparison stimulus response area)
—Presentation options to remain invisible not checked so that it is simultaneously presented with Trial 2 Event 2
—It is set to end either after a correct response from participants or after any response from participants because neither seems to change anything).
—Correct response from participant set to touching the right comparison stimulus response area.
—Feedback set to sounding an auditory event called correct response tone Event for correct responses and sounding an auditory event called incorrect response tone Event for incorrect responses.

The problem is that the sample response area is still active and registering touches as well as the left and right comparison stimulus areas during Trial 2. Touches to the sample stimulus results in an incorrect response being registered (when at this point a touch to it should not be registered), touches to the left comparison stimulus results in an incorrect response being registered (this is good), and touches to the right comparison stimulus results in a correct response being registered (this is good).

I’ve attached my work in progress which shows this happening. I thought that it was happening perhaps because I am trying to create a simultaneous matching to sample task so the sample remains on the screen with the comparison stimuli, but when I select Erase screen or Erase Stimulus such that the sample is removed from the screen I still have the same problem (i.e., a touch to the sample respones area even though the sample visual stimulus is not displayed results in the incorrect response being registered).

If the sample response area cannot be turned off in subsequent Trials then I must discriminate THREE responses (correct response, incorrect responses, and touch to the sample) because the response area for the sample stimulus presented in Event 1 (which is in Trial 1) is still active when Event 2 (correct) and Event 3 (incorrect so it is left unchecked) are simultaneously presented in Trial 2 even though subjects have already touched the sample in Event 1 Trial 1 and even though no matter what the mouse/touchscreen response settings are set to (i.e., automatically determined or specific area defined).

Again, I have tried every configuration with your modifications/suggestions and still run into the same problem. I am a new user so any help is appreciated. I have searched through all of the postings to see if any solutions are available, but so far no such luck.

Test 3.sl4 (9.64 KB)

Try this file that I uploaded. I didn’t have any of your stimuli, so I haven’t run it.

Changes:

Participant Input: You now only have two responses defined.

All events have a correct response defined, as automatic stimulus positions won’t work without this.

The important part is that all of the automatic stimulus positions that you’ve created must be reset to a new position each trial. If this doesn’t happen, the existing position will be used. Therefore, if you have a sample that comes up after these two trials, you’ll need an additional event that displays something unimportant far enough offscreen to be invisible so that the automatic stimulus position is no longer possible as a response.

Test 3 - Hank’s.sl4 (9.87 KB)

Excellent

I just tried your file and it seems to do the trick! It all makes sense now. Much appreciated:)

Simultaneous Visual Stimulus with Stimulus Lists

Hello again:

I am now trying to use the simultaneous stimulus presentation feature with the stimulus list feature and can’t seem to get it figured out. I have a funny feeling that it isn’t possible to do so, perhaps you can help…

So I am trying to set up a standard simultaneous three-choice matching-to-sample (MTS) task like this: ISI --> Present the Sample Visual Stimulus at a location that does not change --> subject touches the Sample Visual Stimulus --> Sample Touched Tone sounds --> Three Comparison Visual Stimuli are presented (a) while the Sample Visual Stimulus remains on the screen, but touches to it produce no response (this part I can’t figure out) and (b) the location of these there visual stimuli are randomized using the Trial Variables function --> subject touches a Comparison Visual Stimuli --> correct responses sound the Correct Response Tone, but incorrect response sound the Incorrect Response Tone.

I am using a number of events in a single trial so that I can use the stimulus list feature for four stimulus lists (as folders with ordered pictures). The four stimulus list folders correspond to the Sample Visual Stimulus (SVS1…SVS100, for the picture files within the folder), the Correct Comparison Visual Stimulus (CCVS1…CCVS100), the Incorrect Comparison Visual Stimulus-A (ICVS-A1…ICVS-A100), and Incorrect Comparison Visual Stimulus- B (ICVS-B1…ICVS-B100). Within each folder, I have my stimuli ordered such that SVS1 is first presented then after a subject’s touch CSVS1, ICVS-A1, and ICVS-B1 are simultaneously presented (I was not able to get SuperLab to do this using separate trials so this is why I have a number of events in a single trial).

Like before, the problem is that the response area for the Sample Visual Stimulus is still active and registering touches as well as the response areas for CCVS, ICVSA, and ICSVB when only the latter three should register touches. I know this is because I have them all in the same Trial, but if I move them to a separate trial then I cannot get the stimulus lists to work right. I’ve tried creating a reset visual stimulus off screen, but this doesn’t seem to work.

Any suggestions??? I’ve attached my work as an Experiment Package

Color Three Choice MTS.zip (1.09 MB)

SuperLab is incompatible with randomizing stimulus lists. It is randomizing positions and not stimuli. In your case it’s working because of the precise order you had specified.

With mouse or touch screen participant input, SuperLab is capable of ignoring clicks or touches in the areas that are not inside the pre-defined response. The problem was everything was in one trial, therefore SuperLab was seeing it as a valid response. What was done to fix this was to put the sample event in a separate trial.

Since you are using stimulus lists macros and codes were also needed.

Three codes were created:

Code 1: What type A or B, Trial A is assigned A and, Trial B is assigned to B
Code 2: What the last trial was
Code 3: Whether or not the trial has been presented

A maco was also created to to know what trial was presented last. The actual work of skipping trials is done in the Trial Editor, under When to present. Please see the attached experiment.

Color MTS(Modified).zip (1.09 MB)

Unzip Password?

I’m trying to unzip the experiment package, but it requests a password

Are you using windows XP? I don’t know exactly why it’s asking for a password. I did not put password protection on the experiment. I will email you the experiment package.

I have had issues getting Windows XP’s built-in “compressed folders” feature to properly extract zip files. If you use just about any other program to decompress the file, you shouldn’t be asked for a password.

We did run into another odd issue that the zip file I’ve attached has fixed.

Color MTS (Hank’s).zip (1.09 MB)

Success Unzipping and Experiment-Wise

Yes, when I tried another file extract program and was able to unzip the Experiment just fine.

The Experiment that you created Monika does exactly what I was trying to achieve. I must admit that I would have never had come up with this solution on my own.

I am noticing one new thing. There appears to be a very noticeable, longer lag time between Trial 1 --> Trial 2 and also between Trial 2 --> Trial 1. The lag time is much longer between Trial 2 --> Trial 1 also. Is this because it is evaluating the trial codes and macros? It is so long that I have to reduce the InterStimulus interval in Trial 1 from 3000 ms to 1000 ms to compensate.

Thanks again

Time Delay Between

I posted this last problematic bit awhile ago, but it hasn’t been addressed yet. Unfortunately for me, I haven’t been able to implement the program that you came up with because of this last problematic bit…

In reference to the program that you guys attached there is now a very noticeable time lag between presenting Trial - Part A1 --> Subject Response and the the presentation of Trial - Part A2. I have everything set to immediately present Trial - Part A2 after a subject response but still the time lag is there.

There is also a time lag between the program presenting Trial - Part A2 --> Subject Response and then going back to Trial - Part A1.

My question is how can these time intervals be eliminated? Are they present because the program is evaluating the trial codes and macros?

Please advise

I went through the experiment again and unchecked the ITI event. It seemed to have helped with the timing issue, however there is still a short lag. It also may have something to do with your computer, I am running on a 2.66 GHz iMac.

Time Delay Still Present

Hello again,

The time delay that I am concerned with is between the presentation of the (a) second event (i.e., Sample Stimulus) in Trial - Part A and presentation of the (b) simultaneous three events (i.e., Incorrect Comparison Stimulus A, Incorrect Comparison Stimulus B, and Correct Stimulus) in Trial - Part B.

So unchecking the ITI (i.e., the first event of TRial - Part A) has no effect on this time delay, but then again, it shouldn’t have an effect because it come before (a).

When I run the experiment that I created that does not use stimulus lists, but still presents (a) and (b) like described above though the trials and events are named slightly different, there is no time delay between (a) and (b). Specifically, (b) is presented IMMEDIATELY after (a) finishes, but this does not occur in the experiment that you kindly created for me with stimulus lists even though it is supposed to IMMEDIATELY go to (b) with the setting that are selected (or at least I think I have the settings set that way).

It may be an issue with my computer (I am running Windows XP, 1.73 GHz, 1 GB RAM). To know for sure could you please compare the time period between the presentation of (a) and (b) in the experiment that you created with stimulus lists and the experiment that I created without stimulus lists (attached here) to see if there is a real difference in the presentation of (a) and (b) between the two experiments.

If there is a difference between the two experiments then the source may be the macros and codes that were created. Is there a way to see how long the evaluation of the macros and codes are taking in the experiment with stimulus lists?

The problem is of course that I need (b) presented immediately after (a) or at least be able to substantially reduce that time interval. So if I can’t get the time delay to disappear in the experiment with stimulus lists then I can’t use the program.

Thanks Ursula

This might be faster discussed over the phone. Feel free to call me at 800.233.7871 or send me your phone number via a private message.