Creating an Expt

The next step is to define an expt element that defines the flow of blocks in the experiment. The expt element is defined as follows:

<expt>
/ preinstructions = (intro, task, taskreminder)
/ postinstructions = (end)
/ blocks = [1=practice; 2,3=critical]
</expt>

The expt element is simple. The preinstructions attribute begings the expt by showing subjects the 3 pages of instructions, "intro", "task", and "taskreminder". The postinstructions attribute specifies final instruction page named "end" to be displayed at the conclusion of the experiment. The blocks attribute specifies that 1 practice block is run followed by 2 critical blocks.

Finally, we'll do a little fine tuning by specifying some default settings using the defaults element.

<defaults>
/ fontstyle = ("Courier New", 16pt)
/ posttrialpause = 500
</defaults>

The fontstyle attribute specifies that all stimulus and instruction text should be displayed in a 16pt "Courier New" font. The postrialpause attribute specifies that a 500 ms pause should occur at the end of each trial.

The experiment is now complete! You can run the experiment by selecting the "Run" command on the "Experiment" menu.

Creating Blocks

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