A computerized cognitive laboratory: A software package for the cognitive psychology laboratory class

Abstract

The package of programs described here allows a teacher/researcher to demonstrate several important concepts in the area of experimental cognitive psychology. These programs may be used either for an in-class demonstration of a particular concept or for a laboratory course that requires the student to collect and analyze data germane to the topic area being studied. There are similar packages available, such as the one described by Simpson and Burgess (1984); the present package, however, includes a broader range of demonstrations that can be used with most Commodore computers.In general, all of the programs replicate an experiment or a standard procedure that has been used to examine a specific cognitive process. Indeed, when appropriate, the procedures of a well-known published experiment have been reproduced. All programs have been written in the BASIC language for the Commodore computer systems and will operate on both the CBM/PET series and the Commodore 64 system. The exceptions to this are the programs requiring color, which will operate only on the Commodore 64. The programs can also be copied and, with moderate modifications, be made compatible with other microcomputer systems (see Brain, Oviate, Paquin, & Stone, 1981, for information on the translation process within the BASIC dialects for the Commodore, Apple II, and TRS-80 systems). For experiments in which reaction times are measured, the system's internal' 'jiffy' , clock is used. This clock is accurate to within %0 of a second, and all timed functions are reported to the nearest %00 of a second.Each program requires a minimum of instruction of the student and is constructed to decrease the chance of the program's being interrupted by inadvertent responses. The entire package is menu driven. That is, once the menu program is loaded into the computer, all demonstrations are loaded and run through program language. For the most part, the students are required only to use the " < " and" >" keys to register their responses. Each program offers brief instructions for the type of response required and has appropriate subroutines to detect incorrect responses. Programs that require students to use the alFunding for the software package was provided through a grant awarded to the second author by the Office of Instructional Development, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. All correspondence should be addressed to David J. Pittenger, Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. phabetic keys do not require fast entry of data, and, if necessary, typographical errors can be corrected easily. Typically, the demonstrations can be completed within 20 min. At the conclusion of each demonstration, the data collected are presented, in tabular form, on the screen of the computer. A hard copy of the data may also be made if a printer is available. Description of ProgramsFree recall and recognition. This series of programs demonstrates the effects of two different types of memory task on the amount of material that can be retrieved from memory. In...