[solved] randomizing the order of 3 tasks x 2 conditions and 6 questions

pool

Hello hello,

I've designed a behavioural experiment in OpenSesame with 3 related tasks each of which has two conditions. Currently, the OpenSesame 'experiment' is organized into 3 'sequences' for the tasks and containing 2 'loops' & 'sequences' for the conditions, these conditions must occur in order. But, I would like the task order itself to vary.

1. How do I randomize the tasks (3 'sequences' within the 'experiment')?

Additionally, I have 6 multiple choice questions, each of which should randomly follow a single condition and not be repeated.

2. How(where) do I implement these multiple choice questions so that all are possible but only one occurs following one of my conditions as I have described them?
3. How do I randomize the occurrence of my multiple choice questions in this format?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading through my problem.

sebastiaan

How do I randomize the tasks (3 'sequences' within the 'experiment')?

One way is to add the your three sequences to a 'container' sequence and loop, like so:

Then you define a variable sequence_nr in container_loop and give it the values 1, 2, and 3 (so three cycles). Finally, you use this variable to run only one sequence for each cycle of container_loop, with the following run-if statements for sequence1, sequence2, and sequence3:

[sequence_nr] = 1
[sequence_nr] = 2
[sequence_nr] = 3

This effectively randomizes the order of container_sequence. Does that make sense?

How(where) do I implement these multiple choice questions so that all are possible but only one occurs following one of my conditions as I have described them? How do I randomize the occurrence of my multiple choice questions in this format?

This will require a little Python scripting. At the beginning of your experiment, define all the questions and response options that you want to present. For example:

# NOTE: This script needs to be in the prepare phase, somewhere at the beginning of the experiment
from random import shuffle
# Define a list of multiple choice questions. Each question is actually a
# tuple, consisting of the question, the first option, and the second option.
mc_list = [
    ('Question 1', 'Option 1A', 'Option 1B'),
    ('Question 2', 'Option 2A', 'Option 2B'),
    ]
# Randomize the list
shuffle(mc_list)

Now, just before the form_multiple_choice plug-in, get one of the questions from the list:

# NOTE: This script should precede the form and be placed in the prepare phase.
# Get and remove (i.e. pop) one question from the list of questions
question, option_A, option_B = mc_list.pop()
# Set the variables, so that they can be used in the form and are logged by
# OpenSesame
exp.set('_question', question)
exp.set('_option_A', option_A)
exp.set('_option_B', option_B)

Now you can simply use the square-brackets notation to use [_question], [_option_A], and [_option_B] in your form_multiple_choice to define the question and response options.

Cheers,
Sebastiaan

pool

Thanks for the help, it was very much appreciated!