Alternating Serial Reaction Time (ASRT) task version 2.0

This repository contains a streamlined implementation of the Alternating Serial Reaction Time (ASRT) task using the jsPsych library.

---

📜 Citation

If you utilize this script in your research, please include the following citation in your manuscript:

Vékony, T. (2021). Alternating Serial Reaction Time Task created with jsPsych (Version 1.0.0) [Computer software]. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7124730

---

🧠 About the Task

In this task, four circles are displayed horizontally on the screen. A target stimulus, represented by an image of a dog's head, appears in one of the circles. The user’s objective is to press the corresponding response key as quickly and accurately as possible based on the target’s position.

Task Procedure

• Practice Phase: Begins with two practice blocks consisting of 80 trials presented in random order.
• Main Task: Consists of 30 blocks of the ASRT paradigm. Each block includes 10 repetitions of a randomly chosen 8-element sequence.
• Controls: The keys 's', 'f', 'j', and 'l' are mapped to the four positions from left to right.
• Trial Logic:
  • Correct Response: The next stimulus appears after a 120 ms response-to-stimulus interval.
  • Incorrect Response: The same target stimulus reappears immediately with no delay (0 ms interstimulus interval).
• Feedback & Breaks:
  • Performance feedback (average accuracy and RT) is shown after each block.
  • Users are prompted to focus on accuracy if mean accuracy is < 90%.
  • Users are encouraged to respond faster if mean RT exceeds 350 ms.
  • Breaks between blocks are self-paced, and the task resumes upon pressing any response key.

---

📊 Output Variables

Data is automatically downloaded in CSV format upon completion or if the user exits early. Key variables include:

Variable	Description
subject	Unique 15-character random ID or customized subject number.
rt	Reaction time in ms (from stimulus appearance for first responses; from last keypress for subsequent responses).
cumulative_RT	The RT from the beginning of the first appearance of the trial in ms.
correct	Whether the response was correct (true/false).
r_or_p	Indicates if the stimulus was Random (R) or Pattern (P).
triplet_type	Categorizes the triplet (e.g., H for high-probability, L for low-probability, X for first trials).
actual_triplet	Three digits indicating the positions of the target stimulus in the last three trials.
block_number	Number of the block (1–30).
is_practice	Whether the trial belonged to a practice block (1 = yes, 0 = no).

---

⚙️ Settings

Users can modify experimental parameters within the parameters.js file:

• nrRandomBlocks: Number of initial practice blocks.
• nrBlocks: Number of ASRT learning blocks.
• rsi: The response-to-stimulus interval in milliseconds.
• isWarningOn: Toggles a warning if overall performance drops below 80%.
• targetImage: Specify the image used for the ASRT trials.

---

🚀 Getting Started

Running the Task

• Open the index.html file.
• Recommended Browser: Google Chrome.
• Incompatible Browsers: Safari and Internet Explorer.