PSY 395 Lab Report 2 – Go-No-Go Method Section
Due: Must be uploaded to Angel by the start of Lab during the week of October 7th
Overview
In cognitive psychology, researchers commonly use computerized behavioral tasks to study
particular processes of interest. One process cognitive psychologists are interested in is prepotent response inhibition or ones ability to inhibit or suppress a well practiced response. This
ability is often understood as an executive process that is necessary to control our actions and
pursue goals. For example, pre-potent response inhibition seems like a necessary process for
people who are trying to stop smoking: one must inhibit the well-practiced response of lighting
up when they are taking a break. One way we measure pre-potent response inhibition is with the
Go-No-Go task. In this study we are going to use the Go-No-Go task to find out how much one’s
motivation can bias their ability to suppress a well-practiced response.
The study
To address this question, you completed a computer experiment. During the study you were
shown a fixation screen with a “+” in the center of the screen. The “+” was shown for 700 ms.
Then either an “x” or an “o” was shown for 300 ms. When you saw an “o” you were supposed to
press the spacebar as quickly as possible before the “o” leaves the screen. When you saw an “x”
you had to not press a key. After each trial you received feedback in terms of accuracy and how
many points you earned.
During the study we manipulated motivation by changing the points you earn for each correct
response. During the unbiased condition, you received 10 points for correctly pressing the
spacebar after seeing an “o.” You also received 10 points for correctly NOT pressing the
spacebar after seeing an “x.” You saw 80 trials of this type. About 25 of those trials (30%)
showed an “x.” Your goal was to earn as many points as possible during these 80 trials. So you
did 2 blocks of 80 trials each. The order of the blocks was counterbalanced so that half of the
participants got the unbias condition first and the other half got the bias condition first.
During the bias condition, we manipulated your motivation to withhold a practiced response
(pressing the spacebar). During this condition you will receive 1 point for pressing the spacebar
after seeing an “o” and 20 points for NOT pressing the spacebar after seeing an “x.”
Please answer the following questions in a typed report. Your responses to the first 5 questions
should be brief (1-3 sentences).
1.) (1 points) What research question were you trying to answer with this study?
2.) (2 points) What are the independent and dependent variables in the study?
3.) (9 points) Report in a table the average proportion of times participants correctly and
incorrectly hit the spacebar in each condition. Also report the standard deviations. The table
should be APA formatted. So the table should have the correct format (12 point font, Times New
Roman, Table Number, Table title, horizontal lines). See your Lab Slides for help.
4.) (9 points) Report in a figure the average proportion of times participants correctly and
incorrectly hit the spacebar in each condition. The figure should be APA formatted. So it should
have a Figure legend below the figure. See your Lab Slides for help.
5.) (9 points) In this study, we are interested in how much people change the rate of hitting the
spacebar in response to an “o” (hit) between the unbias and bias conditions. We are also
interested in how much people change the rate of hitting the spacebar after seeing an ‘x’ (false
alarm) between the unbias and bias conditions. Report the inferential statistics relevant for
evaluating whether motivation biased ones ability to inhibit a prepotent response. That is, answer
the following question: Is there a significant difference between the hit and false alarm rates
between the bias and unbias conditions? Don’t just answer yes, or no.
Hint: You probably want to use a t-test for correlated groups. You should report the statistics for
both the hit and false alarm rates. Also, reference the figure or table.
6.) (20 Points) On a new page write an APA method section.
Write a method section in APA format and style. Your method section should clearly lay out the
methods that were used to run the Go-No-Go Study. To refresh your memory, you might
download (your lab room is open even on the weekends) and retake the task. Also, other possible
information you might want is given below. See your lab slides and example APA method
section posted on Angel for help.
Here is an outline of what should be in your APA formatted methods section:
 Participants (5 points)
o
Report the number of participants
o
Report any other expected demographic criteria that may be relevant for the
results.
o
Report how the participants were recruited, and if they received anything for
participating (course credit, money, etc.).
 Materials (5 points)
o
What stimuli or measurement tool was used?
o
Describe the task in enough detail that another lab could run the same task.
 Procedure (10 points)
o
Discuss the design of the study and all of the control features.
 Identify the number of conditions in the study.
 Identify whether the order of the conditions was counterbalanced between
or within subjects.
 Identify the other factors that were controlled for in the study.
o
Report exactly what happened to the research participants.
 Identify whether the participant completed an informed consent.
 Identify the main task of the participant.
 Identify the main steps of the study
 Identify the approximant amount of time the participant spent in the
study.
Additional information that may be useful:
•The experiment was programmed in E-Prime 2.0 Professional.
•During the experiment participants were told to press the spacebar as quickly as possible when
they saw an ‘o’ and not to press anything if they saw an ‘x’
•They practiced the task for 20 trials with 30% of the trials showing an ‘x’
•After each trial participants got feedback whether they were correct or not.