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same-different-image

Current version: 1.1.1. See version history.

The same-different-image plugin displays two stimuli sequentially. Stimuli are images. The subject responds using the keyboard, and indicates whether the stimuli were the same or different. Same does not necessarily mean identical; a category judgment could be made, for example.

Parameters

In addition to the parameters available in all plugins, this plugin accepts the following parameters. Parameters with a default value of undefined must be specified. Other parameters can be left unspecified if the default value is acceptable.

Parameter Type Default Value Description
stimuli array undefined A pair of stimuli, represented as an array with two entries, one for each stimulus. The stimulus is a path to an image file. Stimuli will be shown in the order that they are defined in the array.
answer string undefined Either 'same' or 'different'.
same_key string 'q' The key that subjects should press to indicate that the two stimuli are the same.
different_key string 'p' The key that subjects should press to indicate that the two stimuli are different.
first_stim_duration numeric 1000 How long to show the first stimulus for in milliseconds. If the value of this parameter is null then the stimulus will be shown until the subject presses any key.
gap_duration numeric 500 How long to show a blank screen in between the two stimuli.
second_stim_duration numeric 1000 How long to show the second stimulus for in milliseconds. If the value of this parameter is null then the stimulus will be shown until the subject responds.
prompt string null This string can contain HTML markup. Any content here will be displayed below the stimulus. The intention is that it can be used to provide a reminder about the action the subject is supposed to take (e.g., which key to press).

Data Generated

In addition to the default data collected by all plugins, this plugin collects the following data for each trial.

Name Type Value
stimulus array An array of length 2 containing the paths to the image files that the subject saw for each trial. This will be encoded as a JSON string when data is saved using the .json() or .csv() functions.
response string Indicates which key the subject pressed.
rt numeric The response time in milliseconds for the subject to make a response. The time is measured from when the second stimulus first appears on the screen until the subject's response.
correct boolean true if the subject's response matched the answer for this trial.
answer string The correct answer to the trial, either 'same' or 'different'.

Additionally, if first_stim_duration is null, then the following data is also collected:

Name Type Value
rt_stim1 numeric The response time in milliseconds for the subject to continue after the first stimulus. The time is measured from when the first stimulus appears on the screen until the subject's response.
response_stim1 string Indicates which key the subject pressed to continue.

Install

Using the CDN-hosted JavaScript file:

<script src="https://unpkg.com/@jspsych/plugin-same-different-image@1.1.1"></script>

Using the JavaScript file downloaded from a GitHub release dist archive:

<script src="jspsych/plugin-same-different-image.js"></script>

Using NPM:

npm install @jspsych/plugin-same-different-image
import sameDifferentImage from '@jspsych/plugin-same-different-image';

Examples

Identifying emotional expressions
var trial = {
  type: jsPsychSameDifferentImage,
  stimuli: [
    'img/happy_face_1.jpg', 
    'img/sad_face_3.jpg'
  ],
  prompt: `<p>Press s if the faces had the same emotional expression.</p>
    <p>Press d if the faces had different emotional expressions.</p>`,
  same_key: 's',
  different_key: 'd',
  first_stim_duration: 800,
  answer: 'different'
}

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