Step-by-step guide

The staircase algorithm follows a similar approach as Contributions of Auditory and Somatosensory Feedback to Vocal Motor Control by Smith et al. We used PsychoPy to set up the experiment.

This README file provides a comprehensive guide to setting up and running the experimental task for the just-noticeable-difference task from the dissertation project Perception-Production-Link in Prosody for Disambiguation. The jnd_task is composed of different modules that call each other to create the complete task. Follow the steps below in the given order to ensure a successful setup and execution.

1. GitHub

To download the project files from GitHub, follow these steps:

• Install Git on your computer by downloading it from the following link if you have a Windows system: https://git-scm.com/download/win

  • Choose 32 or 64-bit, whereas 64-bit is the most common one

• After installing Git, open the Command Prompt (CMD) on your computer.

2. Opening Windows Command Prompt

The Command Prompt is a program on Windows computers used to execute commands. To open it, follow these steps:

• Press Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Type cmd and press Enter.

3. Downloading Project Files from GitHub

• Navigate to the folder where you want to download the project files using the cd command in the Windows command prompt.
• Replace your_desired_folder with the path to the folder:
  • cd your_desired_folder (e.g. cd "C:\Users\Andrea_Hofmann\OneDrive\PhD\exp_jnd")
• Clone the GitHub repository by running the following command:
  • git clone https://github.com/AndHofma/jnd_task.git
  • The project files will be downloaded to a folder named after the repository within the specified folder.

4. Checking Python Installation and Version

• To check if Python is installed on your computer and determine its version, open the Windows Command Prompt (if not still open) and run the following command:
  • python --version
• If Python is installed, the command will display the installed version (e.g., "Python 3.8.15").
• If Python is not installed, the command will not be recognized.

5. Creating a Virtual Environment with Python 3.8

• To create a virtual environment with Python 3.8, first, make sure you have Python 3.8 installed on your computer.
• If not, download and install it for Windows (most commonly 64-bit): https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-3810/
• Open the Windows Command Prompt.
• Navigate to the project folder using the cd command.
• Replace your_project_folder with the path to your project folder:
  • cd your_project_folder (e.g. cd "C:\Users\Andrea_Hofmann\OneDrive\PhD\exp_jnd\jnd_task")
• Run the following command to create the virtual environment.
• Replace your_env_name with your desired name for the virtual environment (e.g. jnd_env):
  • py -3.8 -m venv your_env_name (e.g. py -3.8 -m venv jnd_env)
• After the virtual environment is created, activate it with the following command:
  • your_env_name\Scripts\activate (e.g. jnd_env\Scripts\activate)

6. Installing Python Packages from requirements.txt

• To install the required Python packages from the requirements.txt file, run the following command in the activated virtual environment:
  • pip install -r requirements.txt
• This command will install all the necessary packages listed in the requirements.txt file.

6A. Checking for Microsoft Visual C++ 14.0 or greater and installing if necessary

• Some Python packages need Microsoft Visual C++ 14.0 or a newer version to work.
• If you get an error message, e.g. "Microsoft Visual C++ 14.0 or greater is required." - you have o install the required tools and follow these steps:
  • a. Visit the following link to download the "Build Tools for Visual Studio":
    • https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/
  • b. On the webpage, click on the "Download" button under "Build Tools for Visual Studio 2022".
  • c. Run the downloaded installer. During the installation process, make sure to choose the "C++ build tools" option. Additionally, ensure that "MSVC v142 - VS 2019 C++ x64/x86 build tools" or a later version and the "Windows 10 SDK" components are selected.
  • d. Continue with the installation. After it's finished, restart your computer to make sure the new tools are set up correctly on your system.
• These instructions will guide you through the process of installing the Microsoft C++ Build Tools, which include the necessary Microsoft Visual C++ version for your Python packages.

After finishing this step go back to step 6.

7. Audio files for audio-pitch

• The folder audio-pitch includes 2624 wav files (plus a csv file).
• Since this the limitation for maximum number of files on Github - I used 7-zip to compress and store the files.
• Before you run the experiment - unzip the file audio-pitch.7z and make sure that audio-pitch has 2625 files (2624 wav files plus 1 csv file).

7. Running the Experiment

To start and run the experiment, follow these steps:

• Ensure the virtual environment is activated (you should see the virtual environment name in the command prompt).
• Navigate to the folder containing the main Python script for the experiment using the cd command, if you're not already there.
• Run the main Python script by typing the following command:
  • python jnd_experiment.py

8. Experiment-Start

• First, a small dialogue window will appear.
• Enter the subject id and press "OK".
• The results will be recorded in the file "JND_TaskName_SUBJECT_ID_timestamp_run_Nr.csv" in the "results" folder.
• The plots will be stored in the file "SUBJECT_ID_timestamp_TaskName_Nr.png" in the "plots" folder.