PsychoPy

What is PsychoPy?

PsychoPY is an open-source software package using Python programming language for neuroscience and experimental psychology research. PsychoPY allows you to create interactive experimental studies electronically, which can be run securely online through Pavlovia.

How to install PsychoPy

PsychoPY can be downloaded onto your personal device here. It is also available for use in SN.G14, in the Psychology labs, or on the bookable Science Department dell laptops.

What is the lastest version of PsychoPy?

PsychoPy 2022.2.4 is the current version, released in August 2022. You can find out about the changes in this new version here.

PsychoPy Resources

Below is a list of resources to help you get more familiar with PsychoPy.

PsychoPy Manual

The PsychoPy manual can be downloaded from here and details how to install and get started with PsychoPy, using builder and coder views, running studies online, as well as how to guides, frequently asked questions and troubleshooting.

Resource Page

The PsychoPy website provides you with various teaching and learning resources to help you get familiar with PsychoPy. It includes videos and YouTube tutorials, course materials and suggested books, and can be found here.

How to launch your studies online

An overview of how to launch your study online can be found here.

PsychoPy Forum

The PsychoPy forum can be found here, and is a place for discussing anything related to PsychoPy. It includes tips but is also a place to ask questions and get help with your own experiments.

Ready-made experiments

We are working on getting a number of experiments ready-made for your use and will add them here soon. In the meantime, if there are any particular experiments you would like to see please get in touch.

PsychoPy Tips

Below are some of our tips to make sure your PsychoPy experiment runs smoothly (we will continue to update this list):

Have one folder for each experiment: Don't save multiple experiments in the same folder as this will be problematic when attempting to run your study. Give each experiment a folder of its own.
Know your shortcuts: Flick between builder and coder view using F5, clear the page on builder view using Ctl + N, or run your experiment with Ctl + R.
Setting up variables: the $ sign specifies a variable in PsychoPy but you only need to use it if it is not already listed (no need to double up!).

Troubleshooting and Debugging

Occasionally when you run experiments, particularly online, they may not always behave as you have planned. Below is a list of some of the more common errors you may see. We will continue to develop this list but if you need further help with a particular error, please get in touch.

Note: if you're running your experiment in PsychoPy then errors will appear in the runner box, whilst if you're running your experiment on Pavlovia they go to the developer tools.

Error: SyntaxError: invalid syntax - if you see this error then there is a problem with the code component of the experiment. Identify the line number in the error message to know where the issue occured.
ReferenceError: session is not defined - this is a common issue with running experiments in Chrome. Changing your browser should remove the error.
NameError: name 'x' is not defined - this error often occurs if you have incorrectly labeled your variable e.g. check the spelling and capitalisation.

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