R0.39 Library, University of Warwick | Wednesday 8th - Friday 10th June | 9:00-5:30 daily

Dr Jon Peirce, University of Nottingham (http://www.peirce.org.uk)

PsychoPy is a popular open-source (free) package to allow the precise presentation of stimuli and collection of participant responses in a wide range of behavioural science studies.

This workshop is led by Jon Peirce, the creator of the package, and will teach the two key interfaces of the software. We'll spend a day learning how to Build experiments (quick, efficient and relatively easy) and two days learning how to Programme experiments using the Python programming language (harder to learn but ultimately more flexible). This will be an intensive workshop, so come prepared to use every one of your brain cells!

Criteria for participation

This Advanced Training event is being provided by the Warwick ESRC Doctoral Training Centre for the benefit of PhD students working in the Social Sciences. Please note that we expect this event to be very popular and will be operating a strict priority system for the allocation of places. ESRC funded PhD students (from any UK institution) will have priority, followed by PhD students funded in other ways and finally early career researchers and other academic staff.

By completing the booking form you are registering your desire to participate in this event. Those who have been successful in securing a place will be notified by email after registration closes. The deadline for registering your interest is Friday 6th May.

If, after securing a place, you find that you are unable to attend, please email ESRCdtc@warwick.ac.uk as soon as possible so that your place may be offered to someone on the waiting list.

Pre-requisites

All participants should bring an idea for a study, including stimuli if needed, like images or questionnaire text.

Participants may bring their own laptop loaded with the latest version of PsychoPy (available here) if they wish to, but this is not necessary as the sessions will be taking place in a PC lab and so all attendees will have access to their own PsychoPy capable computer during the sessions.

Practical aspects

This is a three day event. Each day participants will be provided with drinks and lunch (in room S1.50 Social Sciences a short walk away).

Students attending from other Universities may apply for one of a limited number of travel/accommodation bursaries. Please indicate your desire to do so within the booking form.

Indicative schedule for the training:

Day 1: Builder

0930 coffee, registration, welcome

1000 intro to PsychoPy

- PsychoPy interfaces

- Building a standard experiment

- loading files (images and movies etc)

1230 lunch

1330 intermediate Builder topics

- timing options

- inserting code snippets

- blocks and counterbalancing

1530 build your own study

1730 close

Day 2: Python code

0900 Programming basics (with mid-morning refreshments break)

- logic of programming

- strings and numbers

- lists and dictionaries

- loops and conditionals

1230 lunch

1330 better programming

- functions and classes

- modules

1600 exercises (self-paced)

1730 close

Day 3: Programming experiments

0900 Coding the Posner cuing task

- creating windows and stimuli

- setting up conditions

- saving data

1230 lunch

1330 Coding your own study

1700 close