Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Created: November 01, 2014
Last Modified: December 01, 2025 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC
This script runs the BIRD task as described by Daughters et al (2009). The Bird task is a child version of the computerized distress tolerance task PASAT-C by Lejuez et al (2003) (see Millisecond's PASAT-C.iqjs)
Daughters, S.B, Reynolds, E.K., MacPherson, L., Kahler, C.W., Danielson, C.K., Zvolensky, M. & Lejuez, C.W. (2009). Distress tolerance and early adolescent externalizing and internalizing symptoms: The moderating role of gender and ethnicity. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47, 198–205.
15 minutes
A green dot appears above 1 out of 10 possible boxes and participants are asked to click the box as fast as possible. If participants click the box before the trial times out, a bird is set free from its cage and participants win a point. If participants are not fast enough, the bird remains in the cage and no points are won. The goal of the game it to win as many points as possible. Participants work through 3 levels with the last level being the most challenging in terms of timing. During level 3, participants have the option to quit prematurely (=measure of distress tolerance).
3 levels:
Level1: used to calculate participant's mean dot latency (~ latency at which the dot moves that participant can still 'beat'); 3 min duration
the starting dot latency is set at 5000ms.
Success => dot latency is reduced by 500ms (editable parameter)
Failure => dot latency is increased by 500ms
Level2A: uses mean dot latency for 4 min (default timing; can be edited)
Level2B: uses challenge dot latency ( = mean dot latency / 2) for 1 min (default timing; can be edited)
Level3: uses challenge dot latency for 5 min (default timing; can be edited) with the option to quit/escape prematurely
In this script, the feedback (success = bird flies away & happy chirp; failure = bird stays in cage; sad chirp)
takes 100ms (default; can be edited) => therefore the SOA btw. dots = current dot latency + feedback duration).
Stimuli are provided by Millisecond and can be exchanged under section
EDITABLE CODE -> Editable Stimuli
Instructions are not original to the task. They are provided by Millisecond
as htm/html pages and simple page elements and can be edited either by changing
the provided htm/html files or directly under Editable Instructions.
To edit htm/html-files: open the respective documents in simple Text Editors such as TextEdit (Mac)
or Notepad (Windows).
Instructions in this script are self-paced (not on a timer)
File Name: birdtask_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 the session was run |
| startTime | Time the session was run |
| subjectId | Participant ID |
| groupId | Group number |
| sessionId | Session number |
| elapsedTime | Session duration in ms |
| completed | 0 = Test was not completed 1 = Test was completed |
| score | Stores the final scorecount |
| meanDotLatency | Stores the mean dot latency (in ms) of level 1 (response latency of correct and incorrect responses) |
| challengeLatency | Stores the challenge dot latency (= 1/2 of the mean dot latency in level 1) |
| quit | 1 = participant quit level 3 prematurely 0 = participant did not quit level 3 |
| level3Duration | Stores the time spent on level 3 |
| level1Correct | Stores the correct responses for level1 |
| level2aCorrect | Stores the correct responses for level2A |
| level2bCorrect | Stores the correct responses for level2B |
| level2Correct | Stores the combined correct responses for level 2 |
| level3Correct | Stores the correct responses for level3 |
File Name: birdtask_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. |
| countTrials | Counts all freebird trials within a level |
| dotPosition | (box) 1-10 |
| stimulusItem | The presented stimuli in order of trial presentation |
| response | The participant's response |
| correct | The correctness of the response (1 = correct; 0 = incorrect) |
| latency | The response latency (in ms) |
| trialDotLatency | The max. time the current dot is presented before a new trial is started (used for trial timeout) |
| score | Stores the current scorecount |
The procedure can be adjusted by setting the following parameters.
| Name | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
Sizing Parameters |
||
| birdincageSize | The proportional sizing of the image of the birdcage | 40% |
| circleProportion | The proportional size of the response button circle | 0.15 |
Timing Parameters |
||
| level1Timeout | Timeout (in ms) for level 1 | 180000 |
| level2ATimeout | Timeout (in ms) for level 2A | 240000 |
| level2BTimeout | Timeout (in ms) for level 2B | 60000 |
| level3Timeout | Timeout (in ms) for level 3 | 300000 |
| startDotLatency | Sets the start dot latency for Level 1 trials in ms | 5000 |
| level1DotLatencyAdjust | Defines the adjustment to the dot latency during Level1 depending on success (decrease) or failure (increase) in ms | 500 |
| feedbackDuration | Sets the duration of the success/failure feedback in ms => Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (dots) = current dot latency + feedbackDuration | 100 |
Points |
||
| winPoints | Sets how many points participants win for each successful response | 1 |