Resetting the mouse cursor position in between trials (case 1743)
Resetting the mouse cursor position in between trials (case 1743)
I wanted to know if, when using the mouse cursor with screen areas, it was possible to get DirectRT to reset the position of the cursor to the center of the screen after each trial.
We are making a forced choice experiment, in which the participants have to click on one of two images, and we are afraid that the cursor remaining in the previous position, as it happens in the sample, may bias the results.
Hello gerardo,
I wonder if you can make the process simpler by just asking for key responses instead of a mouse click to capture the data about choice A or B.
If knowing the quadrant or area on the screen important to your study on choice, and you're using the mouse cursor functionality to do that, I wonder if you can use a program like this to help you: http://superuser.com/questions/384099/is-there-a-win7-shortcut-to-position-mouse-in-center-of-primary-screen
What this does is it helps you create a shortcut (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C) to return the mouse cursor to "home" (in this case, the center of the screen). you would have to have the participant do this step, though, and it would be tricky to do within DRT. You could bounce between DRT and ML, though. For example, run the experiment through ML and show a trial in DRT, have it end, and have the next trial in ML be moving the cursor back home.
Just a thought, and I can't guarantee that it would work, but if having the cursor return home is important, it might be worth a try.
Hi.
As noted by pezlab you could solve this issue by utilizing key presses in place of mouse clicks. However, if you need this experiment to be conducted via a mouse, below is an alternative to your current design features within DirectRT.
In DirectRT, after the presentation of both images and after a participant clicks on an image, immediately following that screen you can insert a new screen that requests the participant to center the mouse, for example, with a centered "X" and an instruction to place the cursor on the X, and then press the space bar to continue to the next image choice trial...
Even if you could automatically center the mouse after each image choice trial, you would still be uncertain of subtle off-centering movements made by each participant, because simply holding a mouse causes it to move slightly or a lot.
Note: In the MediaLab forum, version 2008, a similar thread on this issue concluded that no such mouse centering option existed.
FYI:
http://support.empirisoft.com/showthread.php?t=1364
