Audio probe during an image stimulus?

[I][edited from support email][/I]

I am highly interested in purchasing Direct RT. I have now received approval from my department to make this purchase but before I do, I was hoping to confirm that DirectRT can in fact create the experiment I need for my research project. Here is the description: I need to display a series of images for a brief amount of time (20 seconds each) in a slide show-like fashion. After this, individuals will see a scrambled word displayed next to a target word on a computer screen. They will produce a yes or no response on a keyboard to this display as fast as they can based on whether the scrambled word can be reconfigured to spell the target word. There will be approximately 20 of these yes-no trials. However, on approximately 5 of these trials, I need an auditory tone to sound through a pair of headphones at either 250, 500, or 750 milliseconds after the presentation of the scrambled and target word display. Individuals will need to respond to this tone as fast as they can by simply pressing a keyboard key. So the big question is can the auditory tone sound in such a rapid fashion after the presentation of the word display described above, and if so, can Diresct RT record the yes/no response and the simple response even when these seperate responses will be very close temporally--one response right after the next?

Based on all I have read on the Empirisoft website, Direct RT appears to be the perfect program to create my experiment with. I just need confirmation that it can, otherwise my department and advisors will be very upset! Thank you for all of your help, I greatly look forward to my experience with Direct RT and plan to turn other researchers in my deparment on to this program in the future.

Slideshow, no problem.
Trials with anagrams only? No problem.
Trials with anagrams [I]and[/I] audio probes... it depends.

DirectRT is not so good at waiting for different sources of input at the same time. It likes to focus on one, and then when that comes in, go to the next. Essentially, it ensures that it never misses a response here because it's looking for one there.

However...

If you can create the sound files such that they have embedded silence to define when they will occur, you might be able to do it. e.g., a 500ms probe would be a single sound file with 500ms of silence followed by your tone.

You would start playing this silence-infused sound file at the trial's onset and then forget about it. Also at onset, you would display your image. As a response to the image, you would allow for three valid keys: one each for "yes", "no", and "tone". Then you simply allow for a second identically configured response. This would allow for the subject to respond to both the image and the tone and in either order.

So yes, I guess that would work just fine.

If you like, you would be welcome to use the software for free for a few weeks to see if you can get it working the way you want. I'll be happy to help if you need it.

Best,
Blair

Hi Jarvis,

I took your advice, I created a silence infused audio file and I am attempting to produce the experiment. Your directions make sense to me, however, I have viewed all of the samples and I have read the directions, yet I cannot figure out how to display the text file (anagram) and the audio file (probe) simultaneousy. Moreover, were I to somehow figure this out, I am not quite sure how I would indicate to the program that I need seperate recordings for the yes/no response and the simple tone response. I have poured hours into this and I can't figure it out. Any response from anyone would be appreciated greatly. Thanks!

-Matt

Matt, you play the sound file first and use a Time column value of 0. Then display the image and use RT:x,y,z, and then repeat the image and again use RT:x,y,z.

If you have any trouble with that, post your input file as an attachment and I'll take a look at it.