Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Created: April 03, 2012
Last Modified: March 30, 2026 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC
This script implements a variant of the dichotic listening task to study switch costs in selective auditory attention. The procedure is based on Koch et al (2011) and uses spoken digits as the stimuli.
Koch, I., Lawo, F., Fels, J. & Vorlaender, M. (2011). Switching in the Cocktail Party: Exploring Intentional Control of Auditory Selective Attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: HPP, 37, 1140 - 1147
28 minutes
Participants listen to 2 digits (1-9, no 5) simultaneously played in the left and the right ear, one spoken by a female and the other by a male voice. In each trial a colored cue (here: @) signals which of the two genders presents the target digit. The task is to decide if the target digit is less than or greater than 5.
•3 soundfiles per digit per gender (3 different voices) = 2 * 3 * 9 = 54 (minus 6 soundfiles for digit 5 that are included for
algorithm purposes only)
!!!NOTE!!!!: the script has the necessary set-up to support using 3 sounfiles per gender per digit, however, at this point only
one actual soundfile per gender per digit is included. To add the remaining soundfiles go to Stimuli item.digitsounds.
in 'dichoticlistening_digits_instructions_inc.iqjs'
provided by Millisecond in the form on images- can be edited under section Editable Instructions
in script 'dichoticlistening_digits_instructions_inc.iqjs'
File Name: dichoticlistening_digits_summary*.iqdat
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| inquisit.version | Inquisit version number |
| computer.platform | Device platform: win | mac |ios | android |
| computer.touch | 0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities |
| computer.hasKeyboard | 0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected |
| startDate | Date the session was run |
| startTime | Time the session was run |
| subjectId | Participant ID |
| groupId | Group number |
| sessionId | Session number |
| elapsedTime | Session duration in ms |
| completed | 0 = Test was not completed 1 = Test was completed |
| propCorrectOverall | Overall proportion correct across the 4 experimental conditions |
| meanRTOverall | Mean correct response time (in ms) across the 4 experimental conditions |
| propCorrectSC | Proportion correct in condition sc (shift, congruent) |
| meanRTSC | Mean correct response time (in ms) in condition sc (shift, congruent) |
| propCorrectSIC | Proportion correct in condition sic (shift, incongruent) |
| meanRTSIC | Mean correct response time (in ms) in condition sic (shift, incongruent) |
| propCorrectRC | Proportion correct in condition rc (repeat, congruent) |
| meanRTRC | Mean correct response time (in ms) in condition rc (repeat, congruent) |
| propCorrectRIC | Proportion correct in condition ric (repeat, incongruent) |
| meanRTRIC | Mean correct response time (in ms) in condition sic (repeat, incongruent) |
| meanRTS | Mean correct response time (in ms) in shift trials |
| meanRTR | Mean correct response time (in ms) in repeat trials |
| switchCostRT | Difference (meanRTS - meanRTR) => switch costs in ms |
| propCorrectS | Prop correct responses in shift trials |
| propCorrectR | Prop correct responses in repeat trials |
| switchCostAcc | Difference (propCorrectS - propCorrectR) negative: probability to response correctly was higher in Repeat trials => switch costs positive: probability to response correctly was in higher in Shift trials |
File Name: dichoticlistening_digits_raw*.iqdat
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| build | Inquisit version number |
| computer.platform | Device platform: win | mac |ios | android |
| computer.touch | 0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities |
| computer.hasKeyboard | 0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected |
| date | Date the session was run |
| time | Time the session was run |
| subject | Participant ID |
| group | Group number |
| session | Session number |
| blockcode | The name the current block (built-in Inquisit variable) |
| blocknum | The number of the current block (built-in Inquisit variable) |
| trialcode | The name of the currently recorded trial (built-in Inquisit variable) |
| trialnum | The number of the currently recorded trial (built-in Inquisit variable) trialnum is a built-in Inquisit variable; it counts all trials run even those that do not store data to the data file. |
| group | Group number |
| parameters.smallerkey/largerkey | The scancode for the "smaller"/"larger" keys |
| parameters.colorname1/colorname2 | Hold the NAME of the two colors |
| blockCount | Counts the experimental blocks run |
| expCondition | The experimental condition run 0 = starttrial 1 = switch-congruent (sc); 2 = switch-incongruent (sic) 3 = repeat-congruent (rc); 4 = repeat-incongruent (ric) |
| genderattention | 1 = pay attention to female voice 2 = pay attention to male voice |
| genderLeft/genderRight | The gender of the voice in the left/right ear, 1 = female; 2 = male |
| digitLeft/digitRight | The digits to play in each ear |
| leftIndex/rightIndex | The index number of the left/right soundfile to be played |
| response | The participant's response (e.g. scancode of response button) 16 = Q (left) 25 = P (right) |
| responseText | The label of the response key |
| correct | The correctness of the response (1=correct; 0 = error) |
| latency | The response latency (in ms) |
The procedure can be adjusted by setting the following parameters.
| Name | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
Timing Parameters |
||
| cuePresentation | The duration of the cue before the soundfiles are played in ms | 500 |
| preCuePresentation | The pause before the cue comes on in ms | 800 |
Design |
||
| color1 | The colors associated with gender1 | green |
| color2 | The colors associated with gender Assignment is counterbalanced by groupnumber | yellow |
Response Keys |
||
| smallerKey | The key associated with the "smaller" amount | "Q" |
| largerKey | The key associated with the "larger" amount if you change the colors and/or keys, you need to make appropriate changes to item.intros | "P" |