PsyScope is a
graphical user interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inst ...
(GUI) software program that allows researchers to design and run
psychological experiment
Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...
s. It runs on
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...
computers and was originally designed for use with the
Mac OS 9 platform. PsyScope was originally developed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at
Carnegie Mellon University, including Jonathan Cohen,
Matthew Flatt,
Brian MacWhinney
Brian James MacWhinney (born August 22, 1945) is a Professor of Psychology and Modern Languages at Carnegie Mellon University. He specializes in first and second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and the neurological bases of language, an ...
, and Jefferson Provost. It has been ported to
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...
by a group of researchers and programmers coordinated by researchers at
SISSA
The International School for Advanced Studies (Italian: ''Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati''; SISSA) is an international, state-supported, post-graduate-education and research institute in Trieste, Italy.
SISSA is active in th ...
, Italy and the
Pompeu Fabra University
Pompeu Fabra University ( ca, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, UPF, ; es, link=no, Universidad Pompeu Fabra) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. The university was created by the Autonomous Government of Catalo ...
, Spain. It is still under active development. The program and its code are freely available under the
GNU GPL license.
It runs under
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...
, from version 10.7 onward. With respect to its
Mac OS 9 incarnation, PsyScope X has a much more complete control of movies and sounds, can interact with the underlying
Unix
Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, an ...
environment, and allows researchers to design programs that use several external devices, such as response devices to record participants' responses, or
Evoked potential
An evoked potential or evoked response is an electrical potential in a specific pattern recorded from a specific part of the nervous system, especially the brain, of a human or other animals following presentation of a stimulus such as a light f ...
and eye tracking recording devices.
It is difficult to estimate exactly how many researchers use the program. However, many researchers in several well respected universities around the world use PsyScope X to generate and run psychology and neuropsychology experiments. Users of PsyScope X can share experiments, tips, and ideas via message boards dedicated to the software.
References
External links
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Psychology experiments
Health care software
Behavioral experimentation software
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