SphereGL Manual - SourceForge Web viewSphereGL User Manual [Type text] [Type text] ... Dropdown with the test that can be performed. A test must be selected to start the testing

A N T O N K R O N A J – T U A N T R A N – S E A N F I N L E Y

SphereGL is a program to perform a stroop test. The stroop test is one where a subject is presented with a prompt where he is told to select the object on the prompt in the following screen. The prompt has a color written and an image of an object, such as a sphere, cube or torus. The color of the wording and the object are different from the wording itself. When the screen refreshes the subject is presented with many objects in many different colors. He must choose the object that appeared on the prompt in the color that the wording says. Not the color of the prompt itself. Some data is measured while the subject tries to fund this object. SphereGL will not do the measuring of the brain. SphereGL is the application that will display the images on the screen and allow the subject to perform a selection on them, and measure the reaction time

http://sourceforge.net/p/spheregl/wiki/Home/

SphereGL Manual

[Type text]

Table of ContentsDocument Overview ...………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

System Overview ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Installation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 4

Quick Start Guide ….……………………………………………………………………………………………. 4

Application Functions ………...………………………………………………………...…………………..... 4

Error Messages ……………………………………………………………………………….…………………. 8

Troubleshooting ………………………………….……………………………………………………………... 8

Support ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 8

Glossary …………………………………………………………………………………………..…………….…... 8

Index …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

SphereGL User Manual

2 Anton Kronaj - Tuan Tran - Sean Finley

Document OverviewSince SphereGL is a one-task application it is very easy to use. This document will go through the necessary information to start using SphereGL quickly.

System OverviewSphereGL is a program to perform one specific test. The stroop test is one where a subject is presented with a prompt where he is told to select the object on the prompt in the following screen. The prompt has a color written and an image of an object, such as a sphere, cube or torus. The color of the wording and the object are different from the wording itself. When the screen refreshes the subject is presented with many objects in many different colors. He must choose the object that appeared on the prompt in the color that the wording says. Not the color of the prompt itself.

Some data is measured while the subject tries to fund this object. SphereGL will not do the measuring of the brain. SphereGL is the application that will display the images on the screen and allow the subject to perform a selection on them, and measure the reaction time.

1. The app is to display a prompt in stroop or non-stroop mode2. Display the target and the background objects3. Handle user input and record reaction time.

In order to use SpherGL it is important to do the following:

1. Have the latest Java Runtime Environment installed in your system. As of this writing (Wednesday, February 27, 2013) the latest version is JRE Version 7 Update 15. If you need to download it you can do so at either java.com or at oracle.com

2. Run your specific Operating System distribution of SphereGL, such as the Mac, Windows, or Linux versions. Whichever system you are using make sure to run its corresponding version of SphereGL



http://sourceforge.net/projects/spheregl/


http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/java-se-jre-7-download-432155.html

http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp




InstallationBesides the latest or the minimum JRE and just running the OS specific distribution there is no installation needed. You can download SphereGL at our Source Forge site (http://sourceforge.net/projects/spheregl/)

Quick Start GuideThe below are guides on how to use SphereGL (click on the link to jump to the desired page).

Start a Test Create a new test Edit a test Delete a test Results





Start A Test

1. Enter the subject’s first name2. Enter the subject’s last name3. Select a test from the dropdown list. If there is no test available follow the

directions in how to create a new test.4. Enter the time in milliseconds the prompt is to be displayed for. Default is

2,000 milliseconds (2 seconds)5. Enter the time in seconds each trial is supposed to last. Default is 30 seconds6. You may choose to change the size of the objects, however the best value fo

any screen is the default at 2.7. Check the box if you want this app to run in full screen mode. Leave

unchecked if you want it in windowed mode. Windowed mode will have the window decorations, which may tamper with the subjects focus.

8. Press ok and the test will start with a pause screen.9. Press the spacebar whenever ready.



10. Pay attention to what the prompt says to select.11. Using your mouse click on the object that is in the prompt’s picture with the

color the word says.



12. A trial will run for the duration you set it in the beginning.13. After each trial ends a pause screen is displayed.



14. Whenever you are ready press the spacebar when on the pause screen to go to the next trial. If there is no next trial the app quits and you are done with the test. You may view the results. See results for more.



Create a new testFollow the below directions to Create a new test and save it for future use. SphereGL test files have the extension “.spg”

1. Click the “new” button in the main Interface.2. The New Test window will open.3. Enter 1 for the trial to be stroop and enter 0 for the trial to be non-stroop.

a. The 1’s and 0’s should be separated by a space.b. No other input is accepted. If there is other input you will not be able

to save the test. You will be notified if there is an error through an error popup.

4. Click ok.5. The newly created test will be available for use from the dropdown list.





Edit testTo edit a test follow the below steps. SphereGL test files have the extension “.spg”

1. Select the test that you want to edit from the dropdown list

2. Click the edit button3. When the edit page opens you may make the changes.4. Follow the direction on the page.5. When you are done editing click “ok”



6. The edited version of the test will be available in the dropdown list.7. If you do not want to edit the test click “cancel” and you will be taken back to

the start interface. The test will not have changed.



Delete a testFollow the steps below to delete a test. SphereGL test files have the extension “.spg”

1. Select the test you want to delete from the “select Test” dropdown list2. Click delete3. A warning popup will appear

4. If you are sure you want to delete press “ok” and the test will be deleted forever

5. If you don't want to delete anymore press “cancel” and the test will remain in your Tests file.



ResultsWhenever a test is run a results file is created. The results are placed in a newly created directory that is titled in the manner of “spheregl_<current year>-<current month-<current day>”. All the tests that are run in a particular day will reside in this directory. The files themselves are titled with the subject’s first name and last name in such a manner: “<first name>_<last name>_<hour>-<minute>.txt”

A typical test result file will look like so:

Trial #: the number this trial is. There can be multiple trials in a test.

Appear: the time the target object and the background objects appear for selection.



Hit/mis: Verdict whether the selection/click was a hit on the target or a mis (correct selection or not).

Mouse X: the x coordinate of the mouse click

Mouse Y: the y coordinate of the mouse click

Mouse Z: the z coordinate of the mouse click

Radius: the size of the objects

Obj X: the x coordinate of the target

Obj Y: the y coordinate of the target

Obj Z: the z coordinate of the target

Time: the time the click occurred

Seconds: the reaction time of the subject in seconds

Each trial will have its own totals separate from all the other trials that indicate the results of a trial as a whole.



Application FunctionsBelow are the functions that can be performed in the application.

StroopThe below images are of a scenario in the test procedure where the prompt is in stroop mode. As you notice the word says blue but the coloring of the word and the sphere is in read. The target to be selected will be a sphere that is blue in color. The wrong coloring, in this case red, is there to confuse the subject so he has to search for the intended target.



There will only be one correct target to select from. In the above case the target is a blue sphere, just like the wording says. There is no other sphere that is blue, go ahead you may look but you will not find it. The target is unique, always.



Non-StroopThe below is a non-stroop mode of the test. As you can see the word says blue, and the color of both the wording and the sphere are in blue. This is in the test to confuse the subject. The confusion happens because in one trial he is using non-stroop to the point where he is confortable in just looking at the coloring and the target image to determine what to select, but in the next trial he may be presented with a stroop test, which will confuse him, thus getting a higher frontal lobe activity.



Pause Screen

The above image if of the pause screen. When this screen appears the researcher has only two options.

1. Press the escape key on the keyboard to quit the test.2. Press the spacebar to either continue to the next trial if there is one, or quit

the test if there is no more trials to perform for the selected test.



Application Start User Interface

First Name: The subject’s first name Last Name: The subject’s last name Select Test: Dropdown with the test that can be performed. A test must be

selected to start the testing. If one is not available then it must be created. See How to create a test.

Prompt Time Milli: The time in milliseconds the prompt will display on the screen before showing the target and the background

Object Size: the size of the objects Trial duration time: the time in seconds one trial will run. Full Screen: checkbox to indicate if the test will run in full screen mode or

not. In full screen mode all the window decorations (toolbar and close buttons) will not be visible.

New: Create a new test button Edit: edit a test. A test must be selected in the Select test dropdown list

before this feature can be used. Delete: delete a test. A test must be selected in the Select test dropdown list

before this feature can be used.



Ok: start the test. A test must be selected in the Select test dropdown list before this feature can be used.

Cancel: Do not start a test, quit the application.

Application Edit Test User Interface

The above is the edit User interface. In order to edit the following rules must be followed. Also see Edit a test guide.

1. A test must be selected from the dropdown list.2. The edit button must be pressed.3. You may enter a new file name. If the file already exists it will be overwritten

with the ne data. Be aware of unwanted overwriting.4. Enter whether trial will run in stroop or non-stroop mode. "1" for stroop, "0"

for non-stroop. Separate each entry with a space " ". Ex. 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1



5. The test will run for as many entries of 1 or 0 you enter. Ex. if you entered the above example entry the test will run for 8 trials.

Application New Test User Interface

The above is the create a new test step user interface. In order to create a new test the following rules must be followed. Also see create attest guide.

1. Press the new button2. Enter a file name for the test. If the file already exist a number will precede

the name you entered. Ex. test_file, 0-test_file, 1-test_file, 2-test_file.... etc.3. Enter whether trial will run in stroop or non-stroop mode. "1" for stroop, "0"

for non-stroop. Separate each entry with a space " ". Ex. 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 14. The test will run for as many entries of 1 or 0 you enter. Ex. if you entered the

above example entry the test will run for 8 trials.



External FileFor better details see Results .

Miscellaneous When in the pause screen press the escape keyboard key to exit the test or

press the space bar to continue to the next trial. If there is no next trial the application will qui.

Press the escape keyboard key to exit the test at any time during the test to quit.

If in full screen mode the window decorations will not be visable.



Errors MessagesThere are checks in place when creating, editing, deleting and running tests. The following are all the errors that can be encountered.

You may not select an empty test to run. If somehow you end up dong it the application will crash. So please don't do it.

You need to select a test in order to run the… well test. If you hit “ok” without selecting a test from the dropdown you will get the following errors.

If you select a test that has invalid input you will get the following error. There are many ways that invalid tests can be tried to open. To prevent this error please use the New test feature of the app to create a new test.



When editing or creating a new test through the respective features of the app you must input valid data in order to save the test. If you do not input any data and try to save you will get the following error.

When you want to delete a test you must select a test from the dropdown list that you want to delete in order to delete. ;-)

When you want to edit a test you must select a test from the dropdown list that you want to edit in order to edit.



When deleting a attest you will get the following warning just to give you a second chance to reflect on your decision.



Troubleshooting

Support Source Forge SphereGL Wiki Page Anton Kronaj ([email protected]) Sean M Finley ([email protected]) Tuan Tran ([email protected])

GlossaryStroop - when the name of a color (e.g., "blue," "green," or "red") is printed in a color not denoted by the name (e.g., the word "red" printed in blue ink instead of red ink), naming the color of the word takes longer and is more prone to errors than when the color of the ink matches the name of the color.



mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]?subject=SphereGL%20Support





http://sourceforge.net/p/spheregl/wiki/Home/

Index External File …………………………………. 7

GUI ………………………………………………. 4

Installation …………………………………… 4

Non Stroop ……………………………..…….. 5

Pause ………………………………………….… 7

Stroop ……………………………………………6

UserData …………………………………….. 12



Documents

SphereGL Manual - SourceForge Web viewSphereGL User Manual [Type text] [Type text] ... Dropdown with the test that can be performed. A test must be selected to start the testing