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Activated Long Term Memory (ALTM) Task
AKA: Facilitation of Procedural Memory Task
-Category Priming Task-
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Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com) for Millisecond Software, LLC
Date: 10-24-2017
last updated: 02-16-2022 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com) for Millisecond Software, LLC
Script Copyright © 02-16-2022 Millisecond Software
Millisecond Software thanks Dr. Christopher Was for sharing all source material for the task!
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BACKGROUND INFO
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The Activated Long Term Memory (ALTM) Task studies the availability in conceptually
related LTM representations of previously processed information. It uses a Memory Load Task
to activate concepts in Long Term Memory.
This script implements the ALTM task as described by:
Woltz, D. J., & Was, C. A. (2006). Activation in long-term memory during and after
attention focus in working memory. Memory and Cognition, 34(3), 668–684
Was, C. A., & Woltz, D. J. (2007). Reexamining the relationship between working memory
and comprehension: The role of available long-term memory. Journal of Memory
and Language, 56(1), 86–102.
Was, C. A., J. Dunlosky, J., Bailey, H. & Rawson, K.A. (2012).
The unique contributions of the facilitation of procedural memory and working
memory to individual differences in intelligence. Acta Psychologica 139 (2012) 425–433
This Inquisit script is based on an original ALTM e-prime script shared by Dr. Christopher Was.
It implements a category priming task.
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TASK DESCRIPTION
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Each of the 18 rounds of the ALTM task in this script consists of 3 phases:
Phase1: Word List Presentation (Memory Load)
Participants are presented word lists consisting of 5 words of two different categories.
Each word is presented for 2s.
Phase2: Facilitation Task
A recall test asks participants 'which of the two categories was there more of'.
Phase3: Likeness Comparisons of word pairs
For half the rounds (9) the test words come from the same two categories used during phase 1.
For the remaining rounds (9) the test words come from unrelated two categories.
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DURATION
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the default set-up of the script takes appr. 25-30 minutes minutes to complete
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DATA FILE INFORMATION
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The default data stored in the data files are:
(1) Raw data file: 'altm_raw*.iqdat' (a separate file for each participant)*
build: The specific Inquisit version used (the 'build') that was run
computer.platform: the platform the script was run on (win/mac/ios/android)
date, time: date and time script was run
subject, group: with the current subject/groupnumber
session: with the current session id
blockcode, blocknum: the name and number of the current block (built-in Inquisit variable)
trialcode, trialnum: the name and number of the currently recorded trial (built-in Inquisit variable)
Note: trialnum is a built-in Inquisit variable; it counts all trials run; even those
that do not store data to the data file such as feedback trials. Thus, trialnum
may not reflect the number of main trials run per block.
practice: 1 = practice round; 0 = test round
round: counts the rounds run (1 round = 1 set); resets after practice
setNr: stores the itemnumber of the currently presented set
setType: stores the set type of the current set ("primed" vs. "unprimed")
setTypeNr: stores the set type and number of the current set(UnprimedSet1, PrimedSet1....UnprimedSet12, PrimedSet12)
Fconcept: stores the Focused concept of the currently selected set ( Focused on during recall)
Iconcept: stores the Ignored concept of the currently selected set (Ignored during recall)
Nconcept: stores the Not used concept of the currently selected set (concept that is not used during the word list)
presentationOrder: stores the selected presentation order of the Focused concept and Ignored Concept words for the current set
presentedStim: stores the words in the order they were presented during the list presentation
recallQuestion****: helper variable to assign the left/right response buttons to F/I concept
1 = F concept is on the left (I oncept on the right)
2 = F concept is on the right (I concept on the left)
leftCategory: stores the concept that is represented by the left response button during recall
rightCategory: stores the concept that is represented by the right response button during recall
compStem: stores the word presented on top (word 1 of each pair) for the current word comparison
compAlt: stores the word presented on bottom (word 2 of each pair) for the current word comparison
primeType: stores the primeType of the currently presented word comparison pair:
primed Sets:
FA - associated with focused concept;
IA - associated with ignored concept;
FM - presented (memorized) focused concept item;
IM - presented (memorized) focused concept item;
unprimed Sets:
NA1 - dedicated comparison item for FA primes
NA2 - dedicated comparison item for IA primes
NM1 - dedicated comparison item for FM primes
NM2 - dedicated comparison item for IM primes
practice:
FAssocPos - associated with focused concept (positive match)
FAssocNeg - associated with focused concept (negative match)
IAssocPos - associated with ignored concept (positive match)
IAssocNeg - associated with ignored concept (negative match)
FAttnPos - associated with presented (memorized) focused concept (positive match)
FAttnNeg - associated with presented (memorized) focused concept (negative match)
IAttnPos - associated with presented (memorized) ignored concept (positive match)
IAttnNeg - associated with presented (memorized) ignored concept (negative match)
N1AssocPoc- dedicated comparisons for FAssocPos
N1AssocNeg- dedicated comparisons for FAssocNeg
N2AssocPoc- dedicated comparisons for IAssocPos
N2AssocNeg- dedicated comparisons for IAssocNeg
N1AttnPos- dedicated comparisons for FAttnPos
N1AttnNeg- dedicated comparisons for FAttncNeg
N2AttnPos- dedicated comparisons for IAttnPos
N2AttnNeg- dedicated comparisons for IAttncNeg
response: the scancode of response button pressed
44 = Z
50 = M
32 = D
38 = L
responseCategory: recall: the participant selected concept ('Fconcept' vs. 'Iconcept')
comparison: the participant selected likeness ('l' (like ~ same) vs. 'd' (different))
correctResponse: recall: the Fconcept category
comparison: the correct likeness for the current word pair ('l' vs. 'd')
correct: accuracy of participant's response: 1 = correct response; 0 = otherwise
latency: the response latency (in ms);
recall: measured from: onset of question
comparison: measured from: onset of the 2 comparison words
FMem1-
NMem3: store the respective F,I, N words for the given set
WrmL1wrd1-
WrmD2wrd2: store the 8 respective warmUp words (for comparison trials) for the given round
2 Like trials (Like1/Like2), 2 Different trials (Diff1/Diff2)
compWord1_1: stores the first word for comparison 1
compWord1_2: stores the second word for comparison 1
compWord1_compAns: stores the correct answer ('l' (like) vs. 'd' (different)) for comparison word pair 1
compWord1_compType: stores the prime Type for comparison word pair 1
(same for all 8 word pairs)
(2) Summary data file: 'altm_summary*.iqdat' (a separate file for each participant)*
inquisit.version: Inquisit version run
computer.platform: the platform the script was run on (win/mac/ios/android)
startdate: date script was run
starttime: time script was started
subjectid: assigned subject id number
groupid: assigned group id number
sessionid: assigned session id number
elapsedtime: time it took to run script (in ms); measured from onset to offset of script
completed: 0 = script was not completed (prematurely aborted);
1 = script was completed (all conditions run)
propCorrect_recall: proportion correct recall performance
meanRT_recall: mean latency (in ms) of correct recall responses
propCorrect_comp_primed: proportion correct of answering comparison test questions of primed items (across FA, FM, IA, IM items)
meanRT_comp_primed: mean latency (in ms) of making correct comparisons of primed test items (across FA, FM, IA, IM items)
uncorrmeanRT_comp_primed: mean latency (in ms) of making comparisons of primed test items for both correct and incorrect responses (across FA, FM, IA, IM items)
speed_comp_primed: relationship btw. proportion correct of answering comparison test questions of primed items to
the mean response time (in min) of comparison trials of primed items (using the mean response time across correct and incorrect responses)
=> number of correct responses per minute for primed items
propCorrect_comp_unprimed: proportion correct of answering comparison test questions of unprimed items
meanRT_comp_unprimed: mean latency (in ms) of making correct comparisons of unprimed test items
uncorrmeanRT_comp_unprimed: mean latency (in ms) of making comparisons of unprimed test items for both correct and incorrect responses
speed_comp_unprimed: relationship btw. proportion correct of answering comparison test questions of unprimed items to
the mean response time (in min) of comparison trials of unprimed items (using the mean response time across correct and incorrect responses)
=> number of correct responses per minute for unprimed items
Response Speed Change: Difference in response speed btw. unprimed and primed word comparisons
=> positive: unprimed word comparisons take longer (Priming Effect)
=> negative: primed word comparisons take longer
Note: Was & Woltz (2007) use residual change scores (from regression analysis)
rather than difference scores to measure the Priming Effect (see discussion on p.93)
* separate data files: to change to one data file for all participants (on Inquisit Lab only), go to section
"DATA" and follow further instructions
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EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP
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Practice:
* 2 rounds, 1 set per round (4 sets are provided, but sets 3 & 4 are not run*, see list.setNr_practice
under section Editable Lists); the sets are selected in sequential order
* everything else is the same as the test trials
Test:
* 18 rounds, 1 set per round (24 sets are provided, but sets 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24 are not run*, see list.setNr
under section Editable Lists); the sets are selected in sequential order
* each round divided into 3 phases:
(1) word list presentation: 5 words are presented, each is presented for 2s (with SOA=2s, default)
- 3 of the words come from the Fconcept (F = focused) category, 2 come from the Iconcept (I = Ignored) category
- 6 different orders of Fconcept and Iconcept words are run in a fixed sequential order throughout the script:
"IFIFF", "FIFIF", "FIFFI", "IFFIF", "FIIFF", "IFFFI", see list.presentationOrder under section Editable Lists
List Presentations Timing:
get Ready (2500ms)->blank(1000ms)->fixation(750ms) ->
->word1(2000ms)->isi:blank(0ms)->....->word5(2000ms)->isi:blank(0ms)->iti:blank(1000ms) (end of word list presentation)
(2) recall task: unlimited time to respond
- the assigned response keys to the F and I concepts are selected randomly (without replacement)
(F concept is the 'Focused' concept and thus the one presented more of)
Recall Timing:
recall delay: blank screen (500ms) -> recall question (up until response) -> isi: blank screen (500ms)
-> Feedback (up until response) -> iti: blank (500ms) (end of recall procedure)
(3) word comparisons: unlimited time to respond
(a) warm-up trials: 4 warm up trials (2 same, 2 different => order of word pairs is randomized)
=> warm-up comparisons use words unrelated to any of the categories from the test comparison trials
=> half the comparisons are same/like, half are different
(b) 8 test comparison trials
=> for half the rounds (9), the comparison pairs come from the F and I concept categories (= primedSets)
(the remaining rounds (9) use comparison pairs that come from two other categories = unprimed Sets)
=> half the comparisons are same/like, half are different
=> fixed order of comparison pairs
Comparison Procedure Timing:
comp delay: blank (500ms) -> get Ready (4000ms) ->procedure start:
isi1: blank (1000ms) -> Fixation (500ms) -> isi2: blank (750ms) -> Comparison Words (until response) ->
isi1: blank (1000ms) -> Fixation (500ms) -> isi2: blank (750ms) -> Comparison Words (until response) ->
...last comparison ->
feedback delay: blank (1000ms) -> feedback (until response) -> iti: blank (2000ms) (end of comparison procedure)
* reduced number of sets:
the script procedure implemented in this Inquisit script follows closely the one run by the original eprime script
shared by Dr. Christopher Was. The original e-prime script provides 24 sets of which 18 are run.
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STIMULI
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provided by Dr. Christopher Was - all practice and test sets are listed under section Editable Stimuli
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INSTRUCTIONS
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provided by Dr. Christopher Was - all instructions are listed under section Editable Instructions
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EDITABLE CODE
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check below for (relatively) easily editable parameters, stimuli, instructions etc.
Keep in mind that you can use this script as a template and therefore always "mess" with the entire code
to further customize your experiment.
The parameters you can change are:
/leftKey: left response button (default: Z)
/rightKey: right response button (default: M)
/differentKey: 'different category' response button (default: D)
/sameKey: 'same category' response button (default: L)
Sizing Parameters:
/fixationSize: size of the fixation cross proportional to canvas (default: 8%)
/listWordSize: size of the words presented in the word lists proportional to canvas (default: 8%)
/compWordSize: size of the words presented for word comparisons (default: 5%)
Timing Parameters:
(1) List Presentations Timing:
get Ready (2500ms)->blank(1000ms)->fixation(750ms) ->
->word1(2000ms)->isi:blank(0ms)->....->word5(2000ms)->isi:blank(0ms)->iti:blank(1000ms) (end of word list presentation)
/getReadyWordlist: duration (in ms) of the 'get Ready for word list' trial (default: 2500ms)
/wordList_delay: duration (in ms) of the delay of presenting the fixation cross after the 'get ready' warning (default: 1000ms)
/attnDuration: duration (in ms) of the fixation cross before presening the word list (default: 1250ms)
/listwordPresentationDuration: duration (in ms) of the words during word list presentation (default: 2000ms)
/listPresentation_isi: duration (in ms) of the interstimulus interval (blank screen) after offset of one stimulus and onset
of the next (default: 0ms) => by default, in this script there is no blank screen presented in between stims
=> 2000ms + 0ms => Stimulus Onset Asynchrony of 2000ms
/listPresentation_iti: the intertrial interval (in ms) - blank screen- after the last list word presentation isi (default: 1000ms)
(2) Recall Timing:
recall delay: blank screen (500ms) -> recall question (up until response) -> isi: blank screen (500ms)
-> Feedback (up until response) -> iti: blank (500ms) (end of recall procedure)
/recall_delay: duration (in ms) of the delay of the recall question (default: 500ms)
/recall_isi: duration (in ms) of the blank screen presented btw. recall response and recall feedback (default: 500ms)
/recall_iti: duration (in ms) of the blank screen following the recall feedback trial (default: 500ms)
(3) Comparison Procedure Timing:
comp delay: blank (500ms) -> get Ready (4000ms) ->procedure start:
isi1: blank (1000ms) -> Fixation (500ms) -> isi2: blank (750ms) -> Comparison Words (until response) ->
isi1: blank (1000ms) -> Fixation (500ms) -> isi2: blank (750ms) -> Comparison Words (until response) ->
...last comparison ->
feedback delay: blank (1000ms) -> feedback (until response) -> iti: blank (2000ms) (end of comparison procedure)
/comparison_delay: duration (in ms) of the delay of the comparison procedure (default: 500ms)
/warmUpGetReady: duration (in ms) of the 'get Ready for first warm up comparison trial (default: 4000ms)
/comp_attn_isi1: duration (in ms) of blank screen before fixation crosses are presented (default: 1000ms)
/comp_attnPriming: duration (in ms) of fixation crosses (default: 500ms)
/comp_attn_isi2: duration (in ms) of blank screen before the comparison words appear (default: 750ms)
/comparisonFeedback_delay: duration (in ms) of blank screen after last comparison response before feedback is given (default: 1000ms)
/comparison_iti: duration (in ms) of blank screen after comparison feedback and before the next round starts (default: 2000ms)
