Tutorial: Dot Probe Task

Download script for this tutorial.

This tutorial builds a simple version of the Dot Probe Task, a commonly used measure of attention. Subjects are presented two words, one above the other, and they are instructed to pronounce the upper word. Occassionally, the upper or lower word is replaced by a "!", in which cases subjects are instructed to press the spacebar as quickly as possible. Typically, reaction times to the "!" are shorter when it appears in the upper position because that is where subjects are attending.

This tutorial covers the following Inquisit features:
- voicekey and keyboard responding
- text presentation
- use of "responsetrial" command to link different types of trials

On the following pages, Inquisit commands are printed in blue, and comments are printed in black:

Before you Begin

  1. Download and install Inquisit Lab

Steps

  1. Creating Stimuli
  2. Creating Instructions
  3. Creating Trials
  4. Creating Blocks
  5. Creating an Experiment

Creating Text Stimuli