Trial Conditions

There are many conditions that define the behaviour of a set of trials. All time values are in seconds, and all distance values are fractions of the screen height (i.e. a line of length 1.0 in these units would extend from the bottom to the top of the screen).

• Repetitions

  • The number of times the trial should be repeated

  • The trial will be repeated this many times (unless the maximum time is exceeded)

  • Default: 1

• Maximum time, 0=unlimited (secs)

  • The maximum time allowed to complete all repeats of these trial conditions

  • If zero, there is no time limit

  • If a trial is in progress when time runs out it is stopped early and no data is recorded for this trial

  • Default: 0

• Number of targets

  • The number of outer targets to display

  • Default: 8

• Target order

  • The order in which targets should be activated

  • Can be clockwise, anti-clockwise, random, or fixed

  • If fixed, the order is determined by the supplied “Target indices” (see next item)

  • Default: clockwise

• Target indices

  • An ordered list of target ids to display, separated by spaces

  • Target ids go clockwise starting from 0 at the top of the circle

  • This is only used if fixed is chosen for “Target order”

  • Default: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

• Add a central target

  • Enable to show a central target between each outer target

  • Default: enabled

• Hide target when reached

  • Enable to hide a target once the cursor has reached it

  • Default: enabled

• Turn target green when reached

  • Enable to paint the target green once the cursor has reached it

  • Default: disabled

• Display target labels

  • Enable to show a label inside each target

  • The labels are taken from “Target labels” (see below)

  • Default: disabled

• Target labels

  • The label to display in each target, separated by spaces

  • Default: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

• Fixed target display intervals

  • Enable to display a new target at fixed intervals

  • The interval is given by “Target display duration” below

  • The interval is not affected by the cursor reaching the target or not

  • If enabled, “Central target display duration” and “Delay between targets” are ignored

  • Default: disabled

• Target display duration (secs)

  • How long each outer target should be displayed for

  • Default: 5.0

• Central target display duration (secs)

  • How long each central target should be displayed for

  • Default: 5.0

• Delay before outer target display (secs)

  • The delay before each outer target is displayed

  • Default: 0.0

• Delay before central target display (secs)

  • The delay before each central target is displayed

  • Default: 0.0

• Extra delay before first outer target of condition (secs)

  • An additional delay before the first outer target is displayed for this set of conditions

  • Default: 0.0

• Distance to targets (screen height fraction)

  • The distance from the centre of the screen to the outer targets

  • Default: 0.4

• Target size (screen height fraction)

  • Diameter of outer targets

  • Default: 0.04

• Central target size (screen height fraction)

  • Diameter of central targets

  • Default: 0.02

• Show inactive targets

  • Enable to make inactive targets visible (but greyed out)

  • Default: enabled

• Ignore cursor hitting incorrect target

  • Enable to ignore when a cursor reaches an incorrect/inactive target

  • If disabled, when the cursor reaches any target the task will proceed to the next target

  • Default: enabled

• Play a sound on target display

  • Enable to play an audible sound when a target is displayed

  • Default: enabled

• Control the cursor using a joystick

  • Enable to use a joystick to control the cursor

  • If disabled, the mouse will be used instead

  • Default: disabled

• Maximum joystick speed (screen height fraction per frame)

  • The maximum distance the cursor can move in a single frame

  • Multiply by the monitor refresh rate (fps) to get the speed in screen height fraction per second

  • The refresh rate is often 60fps, but some gaming monitors can have much higher refresh rates.

  • Default: 0.02

• Show cursor

  • Enable to display a cursor at the current cursor location

  • Default: enabled

• Cursor size (screen height fraction)

  • The size of the cursor

  • Default: 0.02

• Show cursor path

  • Enable to display the path the cursor took

  • Default: enabled

• Automatically move cursor to center

  • Enable to automatically move the cursor to the center after reaching an outer target

  • Default: disabled

• Freeze cursor until target is displayed

  • Enable to freeze the cursor until a target is displayed

  • Default: disabled

• Cursor rotation (degrees)

  • Rotate the cursor direction anticlockwise by this number of degrees

  • Default: 0.0

• Delay between trials (secs)

  • How long to wait after each trial

  • Default: 0.0

• Display results after each trial

  • Enable to display results for the trial after each trial

  • Default: disabled

• Delay after last trial (secs)

  • How long to wait after the last trial with these trial conditions

  • Default: 10.0

• Display combined results after last trial

  • Enable to display combined results for these trial conditions after the last trial

  • Default: enabled

• Display a countdown during delays

  • Enable to display a countdown in seconds while waiting between trials

  • Default: enabled

• Skip delay by pressing enter key

  • Enable to allow the user to skip a delay between trials by pressing the enter key

  • Default: enabled