Creating Instructions

Now lets define a set of instruction pages that inform the subject how to perform the task. Defining the instruction pages is easy using the page element. First, we'll define a simple welcome page.

<page intro>
^^^Dot Probe Task
^^Welcome and thank you for participating in this task. 
^^This task requires that you have a working microphone connected to your computer. If you do not have a microphone, please press Ctrl+Q now to end the script.
</page>

Note that the "^" character is used to force a line break. Otherwise, lines of text are word-wrapped. Now we'll define the rest of the instruction pages:

<page task>
Dot Probe Task Instructions:^^
On each trial, two words will be displayed. Your task is to pronounce the TOP word as rapidly as possible while ignoring the BOTTOM word. ^^
Sometimes, one of the words will be replaced by "!". If you see the "!", press the spacebar as quickly as possible.
</page>

<page taskreminder> 
Reminder: Pronounce the TOP word as rapidly as possible while ignoring the BOTTOM word. ^^
If you see the "!", press the spacebar as quickly as possible.
</page>

<page end>
The Dot Probe Task is now concluded. 
^^This task illustrates the effect of attention on processing visual stimuli. Typically, people respond to the "!" more quickly when it appears in the top location because that's where they are focusing their attention.
</page>

Finally, we'll specify how participants can navigate through the instruction pages using the instruct element. A script should have only one such element.

<instruct>
/ nextkey = (" ")
/ lastlabel = ("Press the spacebar to continue")
/ nextlabel = ("Press the spacebar to continue")
/ fontstyle = ("Arial", 16pt)
</instruct>

The nextkey attribute indicates that participants must press the spacebar key to advance to the next page. The nextlabel and lastlabel attributes specifies the text to display on the button label for advancing to the next instruction page, or past the last instruction page. Finally, the fontstyle attribute specifies that instructions should be presented in a 16pt Arial font.

Creating Text Stimuli

Creating Trials