feedback contingent on response time

[Tracy Lennertz]

On Oct 7, 2008, at 11:45 AM, David McFarlane wrote:

>
> Tracy,
>
> Thank you for including all the necessary script excerpts, I like
> that a lot better than having to wade through a complete attached  
> program.
>
> Well, I have a lot to say about this, mostly about programming style,
> since in fact I do not see why your script does not work.  But I will
> propose a solution in the end.
>
>
> First, since the OverallRT appears in your E-DataAid file, I assume
> that you have verified that it does indeed go above 1500 ms in your
> debugging runs.  Otherwise I would be concerned lest your progam
> simply does not allow responses past 1500 ms.  Also, note that
> without a response you will get a RT of 0, and this will bring the
> average down, so you might want to make sure to take care of that
> (unless you just left that out of your excerpts), something like
>
> If Stimuls5.RT > 0 Then  ' got a response
>      OverallRT.AddObservation Stimulus5.RT
> Else  ' no response
>      OverallRT.AddObservation <maximum possible RT>
> End If
>
>
> Second, look closely at your If... Then... ElseIf cascade, and see
> what happens if OverallRT exactly equals 1500, or OverallACC exactly
> equals 80.  Your If ... Then does not cover those cases, and in that
> case your script does nothing.  Did you mean to do that?  If not,
> then somewhere in there you should have some "<=" or ">=" instead of
> "<" or ">".  Also, good practice dictates that you have a final Else
> clause even if your program should never get there (I call this a
> "sanity check"), we call practices like this "defensive programming"
> (look that up on Wikipedia).
>
>
> Third, if it were me, instead of modifying object text directly, as in
>
> BlockACC.Text = "Your average accuracy is " & ...
>
> I would use an attribute reference, as in
>
> c.SetAttrib "BlockACC", "Your average accuracy is " & ...
>
> At the very least, an attribute reference in the object alerts the
> programmer that this value will be modified at run time, otherwise
> the programmer has no clue that text will be modified in script.  But
> this may come down to a matter of personal programming style.
>
>
> Fourth, I note that your message always starts with
> "Your average accuracy is " & c.GetAttrib("OverallACC") & " % and
> your responses are "
> I would take advantage of that in clarifying the script with a  
> rewrite.
>
>
> Fifth, I would say that, unless this is meant just as an
> instructional program, your program is over commented.  Things like
> the .AddObservation method and Debug.Print should be general
> background knowledge for anyone using E-Prime, and do not need to be
> explained in program comments, that just makes the program harder to
> read.  Comments should be reserved to answer *specific* questions
> that may occur to others reading the script.
>
>
> So much for my unsolicited $.02.  Now, if it were me, I might use an
> attribute reference for the text in BlockACC (e.g., [BlockACC]), and
> completely rewrite your If... Then script.  Let's assume that RT =
> 1500 is still fast, and ACC = 80 is still good, then the script might
> come out like this:
>
> Dim  blockACC as String  ' just for convenience
>
> ' Message always starts the same:
> blockACC = "Your average accuracy is " & c.GetAttrib("OverallACC") _
>      & " % and your responses are "
> If c.GetAttrib("OverallRT") <= 1500 Then  ' fast RT
>      blockACC = blockACC & "fast."  ' all done if good ACC
>      If c.GetAttrib("OverallACC") < 80 Then  ' poor ACC
>          blockACC = blockAcc & " Please try harder."
>      End If
> Else  ' slow RT
>      blockACC = blockACC & "slow."
>      If c.GetAttrib("OverallACC") < 80 Then  ' poor ACC
>          blockACC = " Please try harder."
>      Else  ' good ACC
>          blockACC = blockACC & " Good Job and please respond quickly."
>      End If
> End If
> c.SetAttrib "BlockACC", blockACC
>
>
> No doubt with a little thought you can improve even further on this.
> -- David McFarlane, Professional Faultfinder
>
>
> >

-----------------------------------
Tracy Lennertz
Department of Psychology
Northeastern University
125 Nightingale Hall
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

617.373.4141
lennertz.t at neu.edu


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