Table of Contents
Preface
Audience
Typographic Convention
Acknowledgements
Getting Started with NeuroTask Scripting
What Are Scripts and Why Do We Need Them?
Scripting Psychological Experiments
Writing Scripts
Scripts
The Structure of an Experiment Script
Your first script: A small experiment
Walking through Script 1.1
Script 1.2: A free recall experiment
Script 1.3: A shorter script with a for loop
White Space
Variables
Assigning Values to Variables
Arrays
for loops
Parts of a for loop: Head and Body
Increment
Declaring Multiple Values at Once
Script 1.4: Even shorter scripts with getwords()
You have started with online experiments!
Capturing Keys and Reaction Times
Achieving Precise Timing with await()
Handling Various Types of Events with Await()
Click events
Await-ing Keyboard Events
A Simplified Script for a Lexical Decision Task
Key presses
I) Printable Keys
II) Any Key
III) Non-printable Keys
Event Properties
Measuring Reaction Time (with now(), await(), and awaitkey())
Reaction Time in Theory (Long-hand)
Reaction Time in Practice (Short-hand)
Reaction Times with Timeouts
if...then statements
Operators
Order of Interpretation of Operators
More Examples with Keyboard Events
Shift-Alt-Ctrl
A More Complete Script for a Lexical Decision Task
Screen layout with Box'' andBlock''
Maintaining Experimental Control in an Online Setting: Layout
Two Standard Layout Choices in NeuroTask: Fill and Square
The fill layout
The square layout
Cross-Browser Layout Issues
Font size
Zooming and Text-Sizing
Font Type
Centering Text and Images
The Backbone of Layout in NeuroTask: Box and Block
Box
The Pre-set Box Called main''main'' is the Default for Many Box Functions
Customizing Boxes
Box Color
Box Borders, Backgrounds, and Fonts
Block
Adding Blocks
Removing and Destroying Blocks
Removing vs. Destroying
Example Block Layouts
Showing Text in Blocks
Showing Images in Blocks
Combining Box and Block: the makebox() convenience function
Deleting All Contents of a Box
Using Blocks as Stimuli
Corsi Block Tapping Task
Random Dot Stimuli
Images
Visual recognition task
concat(array1,array2)
contains(array,element)
log(variable,label)
Image linking and uploading
Uploading images
Linking images
Uploading versus linking images
Where your images are stored
Preloading images
The preload() function
Preloading is Block-specific
Resizing images
Style
Style with style()
Chaining of block function calls
Setting font size of an entire Box
Queries with tag name, class and id
Color
Named colors
RGB and Hex
Opacity and transparency
Fonts and text styles
Font family
Font size and other text style properties
Font weight: bold and bolder
Font style: italic
Text decoration: underline and line-through
Font size and line-height
Text align: left, right, or justify
Top, left, width, height, and getshape()
Borders
Padding
Preset functions versus block functions
Survey questions with form controls
Instruction
Button
Input
Using response values in scripts
Return values
The response object
Feedback with
Largeinput
Select, radio, and scale
select()
radio()
scale()
Check
Sleep questionnaire example
Combining controls with startform() and endform()
Validation
Data logging and handling
Data logging with log()
Data that is always logged in activated' scripts
Data tables in your account
What asession' is
Data storage and retrieval
Storing behind the scenes' or storing now
Storing at thescript' and author' level
increase() and decrease()
Working with the data tables
Filtering data
Exporting data
Pivot tables, or how to make your tablessquare' again
Logging, storing, and the `response' object
Deleting data
Data Dashboard
Animation and drag-and-drop
Animation
Feedback with blink()
Blinking other properties with toggle()
Using the animate() function
A general approach to animation with RAF()
Using icons with the icon() function
An animation loop
Drag-and-drop
Drag-and-drop basics
Dragging a block inside (on top of) another
Drag-and-drop with multiple drop targets
Putting everything together: A simple game
Sound
Preloading sounds
Advanced options
Working with video
Subtitles and chapters
Advanced options
Supported video options
Getting the video player
Showing the same video simultaneously in two blocks
Graphics
Pivot Tables
Synchronous and asynchronous programming
Asynchronous programming (is still possible in NeuroTask Scripting!)
The waitfor .. or construction
Appendix
Background Code
Example Scripts
Corsi Block Tapping Task
Random Dot Pattern Recognition