Class 2 — Builder Basics

Open PsychoPy Builder for the first time and program the original Stroop task — routines, a trial loop, and a keyboard-response component.

This is the first time you’ll open PsychoPy’s Builder view with intent to build something, rather than just confirming it launches. Working from the original Stroop task, you’ll learn how routines and the experiment Flow relate, read a conditions spreadsheet, and program a complete trial loop. You’ll then run it on a partner and look at the data it produces.

Reading due: Think Python ch. 2–3 · Due today: —

What you’ll be able to do

1. Use variables, expressions, and simple function calls correctly when reasoning about Python code, reinforced through a Colab warm-up.
2. Explain what a PsychoPy routine is and how it differs from the overall experiment flow.
3. Explain what a loop does in Builder and how it connects to a conditions spreadsheet.
4. Read a conditions spreadsheet (columns as variables, rows as conditions) and predict how many trials a loop will run.
5. Add a routine to the Flow and add/configure a keyboard-response component that records a key press and reaction time.
6. Locate and describe the “instruct,” “trial,” and “thanks” routines in the original Stroop task, and correctly wire in routines that exist in the Routines pane but aren’t yet in the Flow.