Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Created: January 09, 2015
Last Modified: January 18, 2025 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC
This script implements a simple Affective Priming procedure with supraliminal picture primes and word targets. In general, priming procedures are simple response-timed binary categorization tasks of items from two target categories (e.g. positive vs. negative adjectives). Priming Procedures are based on the assumption that people respond faster if the target category was already 'mentally activated' by briefly presenting items (called 'primes') that are closely connected in one's mind. Thus, a person should be faster to quickly categorize the target word 'good' as 'positive' after the brief presentation of the prime word/image of 'ice-cream' (assuming good and ice-cream are associated in one's mind) than after the brief presentation of the prime word/image 'war' (assuming good and war are not closely associated in one's mind). If the primes are presented with a temporal duration that can be consciously processed, the primes are called 'supraliminal'.
The implemented procedure is not based on any particular published paradigm.
7 minutes
Participants are asked to categorize affective target words into pleasant and unpleasant categories. For baseline measures, a baseline supraliminal prime '***' precedes the target words. For test measures, supraliminal picture primes precede the target words.
2 affective primes (pleasant vs unpleasant: here flowers vs. insect pics) x 2 affective targets (pleasant vs unpleasant), tested within subjects
1. baseline ("practice"): 48 trials (all 48 targets) are tested with a baseline prime (***); targets are selected at random
2. test: 48 trials (all 48 targets); targets are selected at random
- all 48 words occur once as prime and once as target
Trialsequence:
Prime (200ms, editable) -> prime-target ISI (100ms, editable)
-> Targets (until response; latency measured from onset of target)->ITI (2500ms)
Words are taken from:
Draine, S.C, & Greenwald, A.G. (1998). Replicable Unconscious Semantic Priming. Journal of Experimental Psychology:
General, 127, 286-303.
pictures collected from the internet as well as the Inquisit AMP.iqjs- they are used as placeholders
Insects - > unpleasant primes
Flowers -> pleasant primes
edit under section Editable Stimuli
generic instructions; can be edited under section Editable Instructions
File Name: affectivepriming_pictures_summary*.iqdat
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| inquisit.version | Inquisit version number |
| computer.platform | Device platform: win | mac |ios | android |
| computer.touch | 0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities |
| computer.hasKeyboard | 0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected |
| 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 = Test was not completed 1 = Test was completed |
| propCorrect | Overall proportion correct (across baseline and test) |
| meanRT | Overall mean correct response time in ms (across baseline and test) |
| propCorrectBase | Proportion correct baseline trials |
| meanRTBase | Mean latency (ms) of correct baseline trials |
| propCorrectUBase | Proportion correct Unpleasant baseline trials |
| meanRTUBase | Mean latency (ms) of correct Unpleasant baseline trials |
| propCorrectPBase | Proportion correct Pleasant baseline trials |
| meanRTPBase | Mean latency (ms) of correct Pleasant baseline trials |
| propCorrectTest | Proportion correct test trials |
| meanRTTest | Mean latency (ms) of correct test trials |
| propCorrectUUTest | Proportion correct test trials that pair Unpleasant primes with Unpleasant targets |
| meanRTUUTest | Mean latency (in ms) of correct test trials that pair Unpleasant primes with Unpleasant targets |
| propCorrectUPTest | Proportion correct test trials that pair Unpleasant primes with Pleasant targets |
| meanRTUPTest | Mean latency (in ms) of correct test trials that pair Unpleasant primes with Pleasant targets |
| propCorrectPUTest | Proportion correct test trials that pair Pleasant primes with Unpleasant targets |
| meanRTPUTest | Mean latency (in ms) of correct test trials that pair Pleasant primes with Unpleasant targets |
| propCorrectPPTest | Proportion correct test trials that pair Pleasant primes with Pleasant targets |
| meanRTPPTest | Mean latency (in ms) of correct test trials that pair Pleasant primes with Pleasant targets |
File Name: affectivepriming_pictures_raw*.iqdat
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| build | Inquisit version number |
| computer.platform | Device platform: win | mac |ios | android |
| computer.touch | 0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities |
| computer.hasKeyboard | 0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected |
| date | Date the session was run |
| time | Time the session was run |
| subject | Participant ID |
| group | Group number |
| session | Session number |
| blockcode | The name the current block (built-in Inquisit variable) |
| blocknum | The number of the current block (built-in Inquisit variable) |
| trialcode | The name of the currently recorded trial (built-in Inquisit variable) |
| trialnum | The number of the currently recorded trial (built-in Inquisit variable) trialnum is a built-in Inquisit variable; it counts all trials run even those that do not store data to the data file. |
| primeCategory | Unpleasant vs Pleasant |
| targetCategory | Unpleasant vs Pleasant |
| primeItemNumber | Stores the itemnumber of the currently presented prime (0-based => first item in a list has index 0) |
| prime | Stores the presented prime |
| targetItemNumber | Stores the itemnumber of the currently presented target (0-based => first item in a list has index 0) |
| target | Stores the presented target |
| response | Scancode of the pressed response button (Example:) 18 = E = left 23 = I = right 57 = spacebar |
| responseCategory | The interpretation of the key-response: "pleasant" or "unpleasant" |
| correct | Accuracy of response: 1 = correct response; 0 = otherwise |
| latency | The response latency (in ms); measured from: onset of target |
The procedure can be adjusted by setting the following parameters.
| Name | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| baselinePrime | The symbols used for the baseline "prime" | "***" |
| baselinePrimeHeight | The height of the baseline prime in % of canvas height | 5% |
| primeSize | The size of the prime pictures in % of canvas height | 30% |
| targetHeight | The size of the targets in % of canvas height | 5% |
| primeDuration | The duration of the primes in ms | 200 |
| ptISI | The duration of the prime-target interstimulus interval | 100 |
| iti | The intertrial interval | 2500 |
| responseKeyLeft | The left response key in this script the left response key is used as the unpleasant key | "E" |
| responseKeyRight | The right response key in this script the right response key is used as the pleasant key | "I" |