Mouse Component¶

The Mouse component can be used to collect responses from a participant. The coordinates of the mouse location are given in the same coordinates as the Window, with (0,0) in the centre.

Categories:: Responses
Works in:: PsychoPy, PsychoJS

Scenarios¶

This can be used in various ways. Here are some scenarios (email the list if you have other uses for your mouse):

Use the mouse to record the location of a button press

Use the mouse to control stimulus parameters: Imagine you want to use your mouse to make your ‘patch’_ bigger or smaller and save the final size. Call your Mouse Component ‘mouse’, set it to save its state at the end of the trial and set the button press to end the Routine. Then for the size setting of your Patch stimulus insert $mouse.getPos()[0] to use the x position of the mouse to control the size or $mouse.getPos()[1] to use the y position.

Tracking the entire path of the mouse during a period

Parameters¶

Basic¶

The required attributes of the stimulus, controlling its basic function and behaviour

Name: Everything in a PsychoPy^® experiment needs a unique name. The name should contain only letters, numbers and underscores (no punctuation marks or spaces).

Start: When the Mouse Component should start, see Defining the onset/duration of components.

Expected start (s): If you are using frames to control timing of your stimuli, you can add an expected start time to display the component timeline in the routine.

Start type

How do you want to define your start point?

Options:

time (s)
frame N
condition

Stop: When the Mouse Component should stop, see Defining the onset/duration of components.

Expected duration (s): If you are using frames to control timing of your stimuli, you can add an expected duration to display the component timeline in the routine.

Stop type

How do you want to define your end point?

Options:

duration (s)
duration (frames)
time (s)
frame N
condition

End Routine on press

Should a button press force the end of the Routine (e.g end the trial)?

Options:

never
any click
valid click
correct click

New clicks only: If the mouse button is already down when we start checking then wait for it to be released before recording as a new click.

Clickable stimuli: A comma-separated list of your stimulus names that can be “clicked” by the participant. e.g. target, foil

Data¶

What information about this Component should be saved?

Save mouse state

How often should the mouse state (x,y,buttons) be stored? On every video frame, every click or just at the end of the Routine?

Options:

final
on click
on valid click
every frame
never

Time relative to

What should the values of mouse.time should be relative to?

Options:

mouse onset
experiment
routine

Store params for clicked: The params (e.g. name, text), for which you want to store the current value, for the stimulus that was”clicked” by the mouse. Make sure that all the clickable objects have all these params.

Save onset/offset times: Store the onset/offset times in the data file (as well as in the log file).

Sync timing with screen refresh: Synchronize times with screen refresh (good for visual stimuli and responses based on them)

Store correct: Do you want to save the response as correct/incorrect?

Correct answer: What is the ‘correct’ object? To specify an area, remember that you can create a shape Component with 0 opacity.

Testing¶

Tools for testing, debugging and checking the performance of this Component.

Disable Component: Disable this Component