Class 2 — Builder Basics

Part I
Open PsychoPy Builder for the first time and wire together a shared Stroop-style task — routines, a trial loop, and a keyboard-response component.
Published

September 15, 2026

PART I · CLASS 2

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 a shared Congruent/Incongruent (Stroop-style) task, you’ll learn how routines and the experiment Flow relate, read a conditions spreadsheet, and wire together a complete trial loop — 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 shared Stroop-style task, and correctly wire routines that exist in the Routines pane but aren’t yet in the Flow.
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