I'm starting to set up a new experiment that is rather complicated, so I thought maybe I could get a few quick tips here to minimize the amount of time I was on sub-optimal or inefficient task set-up.

The experiment involves the presentation of both visual and auditory probes, and the collection of spoken responses (to the visual probes) and key-press responses (to the auditory probes).


Here’s the basic set-up:

Task 1: A social category label will appear on screen, and participants will generate responses aloud. At the same time, the computer will emit tones at a prespecified frequency (e.g., once every 750 msec), and participants will respond by pressing a key on the keyboard as quickly as possible in response to each tone. I need the label to stay on the screen for the 2-minute duration of the task, and I need to record (1) the onset time for each spoken response and (2) the response and RT to each probe.

Task 2: A visual array of numbers will appear on the screen; these numbers will appear in black/white font and at random intervals one of the numbers will change (e.g., become red) and participants will respond by speaking the number aloud. At the same time, the computer will emit tones at a prespecified frequency (e.g., once every 750 msec), and participants will respond by pressing a key on the keyboard as quickly as possible in response to each tone. I need to record (1) the onset time for each spoken response in relation to the changing visual array and (2) the response and RT to each auditory probe.

If anyone has experience with this kind of thing and can anticipate the kinds of errors I'm likely to make in setting this up or has tips/tricks that are helpful, I would really appreciate it!