You and your partner will use a special program to each record 100 reaction time measurements according to the instructions below.

• Select EJECT DISC.


• Double Click on MouseRT Apl.
  
  You will see:

"Enter the number of Reaction Time measurements to be made-"

If it does not appear, ask your lab instructor for help.

2.    PRACTICE RUN: To test the program, enter 3 for the number of measurements and hit RETURN. A list of instructions will appear on the screen. Read them carefully before striking any key!!

3.     Hit any key now. The screen will go blank for a random period of time. Watch in the upper left corner of the window for the word STOP to appear. As soon as it appears, click with the mouse. The word should disappear again for a random period of time before reappearing. It will continue to reappear until you complete the number of Reaction Time measurements you entered in step 2.
 
 

4.    A new screen will appear with the listing of your reaction times, , s, and s_m like the one shown below.

♦♦♦DO NOT TOUCH THE KEYBOARD!♦♦♦

 

Figure 1-2: Example of MouseRT Final Window

The data program will end and close the window when you touch any key. You need to record the values in the Workbook, so do not touch the keyboard until you have recorded them. These values are in machine units (mu). Each mu is approximately 1/100 of a second. You will determine a precise relation between mu’s and seconds later on in the Calibration procedure.
 

5. To record the data, open the GRAB application from the dock.

Under the CAPTURE menu, select WINDOW.

Click the Choose Window button.

Click anywhere inside the Mini v Mac window to select it.

Under the FILE menu, select PRINT to get a hard copy.

Go back to the Mini v Mac window and select it with the mouse.

Hit any key to end the data taking procedure.

To close the Mini v Mac window, under its SPECIAL menu, select SHUT DOWN. You can then dismiss the window with the red button.

6.    Open up the Reaction-Workbook spreadsheet on the main computer, and fill in the header information, including partners’ names, lab instructor and the date.
 
 

7.    TAKING DATA: Follow steps 1 through 5. At step 2, enter 100 for the number of Reaction Time measurements. Be sure to record all of the 100 data points on the Worksheet before hitting a key at the end. Each partner should record his/her own reaction time as a separate run of 100 points in spreadsheet cells B13 through F32, and B43 through F62, respectively.


8.    For each partner, from the MouseRT display, record: average reaction time in cells F34 and F64, standard deviation in cells F36 and F66, and standard deviation of the mean in cells F38 and F68 on the Worksheet.
 

9.    CALIBRATION: To convert the MouseRT machine unit times into seconds, run the program and use a watch with a sweep-second hand, or the wall clock to check the time. Allow STOP to appear for 180 seconds before you click with the mouse. Do this for three separate calibration runs, and record the results on the Worksheet each time in cells F73:F75. Partners will use the same calibration data.

10.    Print out the Worksheet and use it to develop your report.