Building Experiments in PsychoPy

by Jonathan Peirce, Rebecca Hirst, Michael MacAskill

Overview

Psycho Py is an open-source software package for creating rich, dynamic experiments in psychology, neuroscience and linguistics. Written by its creator, this book walks you through the steps of building experiments in Psycho Py, from using images to discovering lesser-known features, and from analysing data to debugging your experiment.

Divided into three parts and with unique extension exercises to guide you at whatever level you are at, this textbook is the perfect tool for teaching practical undergraduate classes on research methods, as well as acting as a comprehensive reference text for the professional scientist.

Essential reading for anyone using Psycho Py software, the second edition has been fully updated and includes multiple new chapters about features included in recent versions of Psycho Py, including running studies online and collecting survey data.

Part I teaches you all the basic skills you need (and some more advanced tips along the way) to design experiments in behavioral sciences. Each chapter introduces anew concept but will offer a series of working experiments that you can build on.

Part II presents more details important for professional scientists intending to use Psycho Py for published research. This part is recommended reading for science professionals in any discipline.

Part III covers a range of specialist topics, such as those doing f MRI research, or those studying visual perception.

“This book fills an incredibly important gap in the field. Many users of Psycho Py will be excited to learn that there is now a highly accessible and well-designed written guide to refine their skills.” – Susanne Quadflieg, University of Bristol

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529741667
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	05/30/2022
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.53(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jonathan Peirce is Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Nottingham, with a background in visual neuroscience and a particular interest in research methods. For his research, Jon needed precise (and dynamic) stimulus presentations. For teaching psychology undergraduates about research methods, he needed software that was intuitive enough for them to understand. The combination of these needs (and his generally geekiness) caused Jon gradually to create Psycho Py. Happily, many people have got on board with the project and it grew.

When he isn’t designing experiments, writing software or trying to teach students to be awesome scientists, Jon can be found walking his dog, playing with his daughter or making unpleasant noises on a guitar.

Michael Mac Askill is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch. He is also the Research Director at the New Zealand Brain Research Institute. His training is in experimental psychology and his research is mainly in the field of Parkinson’s disease, through projects in brain imaging, neuropsychology, and epidemiology. His main joy, however, lies in measuring fast eye movements (saccades).Looking for better ways to study them, in 2008 he discovered what Jon had achieved with Psycho Py, and has since become a passionate believer in the enabling power of open-source software.Living in a geologically active area, Michael recently decided to move from a house perched on a cliff in a volcano to one situated in a very large lawn. In the weekends, he can be found mowing that lawn.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction
Section 1: For the beginner
Chapter 2: Building your first experiment
Chapter 3: Using images - a study into face perception
Chapter 4: Timing and brief stimuli: Posner cueing
Chapter 5: Creating dynamic stimuli (revealing text and moving stimuli)
Chapter 6: Providing feedback: simple Code Components
Chapter 7: Ratings: Measure the Big 5 personality constructs
Chapter 8: Randomization, blocks and counterbalancing: a bilingual
Chapter 9: Using the mouse for input: creating a visual search task li
Section 2: For the professional
Chapter 10: Implementing research designs with randomization
Chapter 11: Coordinates and color spaces
Chapter 12: Understanding your computer timing issues
Chapter 13: Monitors and Monitor Center
Chapter 14: Debugging Your Experiment
Chapter 15: Pro-tips, tricks, and lesser-known features
Section 3: For the specialist
Chapter 16: Psychophysics, stimuli and staircases
Chapter 17: Building an f MRI study
Chapter 18: Building an EEG study
Chapter 19: Add eye-tracking to your experiment
A: Mathematics refresher
B: Exercise solutions

Editorial Reviews

Including a variety of real-word examples and step-by-step screenshots for beginners with further sections for professionals, this a resource essential reading for anyone wanting to use it for serious research.

John Allen

This friendly and comprehensive book should be required reading for any student planning a psychology/neuroscience experiment. It provides a friendly introduction for the non-programmer as well as a handy reference guide for the more advanced user. Your students will thank you for recommending it. Make sure that your library has it in stock.

Dr Joseph L Brooks

This book fills an incredibly important gap in the field. Many users of Psycho Py will be excited to learn that there is now a highly accessible and well-designed written guide to refine their skills. No more tinkering with the templates of other people’s scripts (unless you want to, of course). The book provides clear instructions on how to build computerized experiments from scratch to the exact specifications you want.

Having previously taught Psycho Py to university students, I am also convinced that the book will soon turn into one of their most cherished learning companions. In particular, its dedicated ‘Warning’ sections provide extremely handy reminders what to look out for when a script does not seem to do what it was meant to do. In fact, within 30 min of reading the book, I spotted a problem I currently had with one of my own scripts (the typical ‘duh!’ moment).

Equally handy are the book’s chapters that outline how to make Psycho Py ‘speak’ to external devices, ranging from eye-trackers to f MRI scanners. They provide invaluable information about all the nitty-gritty details that should be considered under such circumstances. In consequence, the book really helps with handling any unnecessary panic that can set in when setting up a new experiment.

The only thing that can be criticized about this book is that it was not published any earlier. I am a bit envious of the generations of new users that can simply look up ‘loop ordering options’ or ‘non-slip timing’.

Susanne Quadflieg

In ye olden days when I was a student, we had to script our experiments, which was tedious and error-prone, or use proprietary software, which was expensive and inflexible. This is why I love Psycho Py Builder, and Building Experiments in Psycho Py is a great resource for today‘s budding experimenters.

Heiða María Sigurðardóttir

Python is quickly becoming the programming language of choice in psychology and one very useful toolbox for designing and implementing experiments is Psycho Py. The Psycho Py Builder, in combination with this book, provides a smooth transition into the fine art of writing experiment code. This book is written by vision scientists, and it shows.

Tom Verguts

The 2020 pandemic has forced a lot of researchers to move their physical lab experiments online. If you are already doing this, or thinking about it, the second edition of "Building Experiments in Psycho Py" is a must have. The new edition offers sage advice on online data collection and provides a walkthrough on how to use some of its new components (e.g., creating surveys via Forms. ).

Jason Geller

An essential read for anyone starting out creating computer-based experiments using Psycho Py. As an open source project, Psycho Py has evolved far beyond its original purpose, to the point where it can now interact with a variety of different hardware devices (e.g., eye-trackers, button boxes) and produce online web-based experiments. So, the time is ripe for a manual that gently guides the reader through from beginner to professional and ultimately to discovering the specialist applications of Psycho Py.

Jonathan Brooks