PsychoPy is an open-source software package for creating rich, dynamic experiments in psychology, neuroscience and linguistics. Written by its creator, this book walks you through the steps of building experiments in PsychoPy, from using images to discovering lesser-known features, and from analysing data to debugging your experiment. Divided into three parts and with unique extension exercises to guide you at whatever level you are at, this textbook is the perfect tool for teaching practical undergraduate classes on research methods, as well as acting as a comprehensive reference text for the professional scientist. Essential reading for anyone using PsychoPy software, the second edition has been fully updated and includes multiple new chapters about features included in recent versions of PsychoPy, including running studies online and collecting survey data. Part I teaches you all the basic skills you need (and some more advanced tips along the way) to design experiments in behavioral sciences. Each chapter introduces anew concept but will offer a series of working experiments that you can build on. Part II presents more details important for professional scientists intending to use PsychoPy for published research. This part is recommended reading for science professionals in any discipline. Part III covers a range of specialist topics, such as those doing fMRI research, or those studying visual perception. "This book fills an incredibly important gap in the field. Many users of PsychoPy will be excited to learn that there is now a highly accessible and well-designed written guide to refine their skills." – Susanne Quadflieg, University of Bristol

Psychology acts as a link between the social and biological sciences. As a social science its subject-matter is of the utmost importance in understanding human actions in society, their behavior as individuals, as members of various groups. A knowledge of psychology however necessitates a knowledge of the tools of biological sciences as its methodology has been modeled after the biological sciences. Hence a training in laboratory methods is essential for students of psychology. This book combines the salient features of the methodology of experiments in psychology, the concepts of general experiments in psychology, and the advantage of a laboratory manual. It aims at developing in the students the understanding and skill to pose a problem, and to plan and conduct an experiment to answer it. Complete reports of a number of experiments have been given which, though based on hypothetical data, will enable students to realize that every step has a rationale behind it. Accounts of related problems and, in several cases, description of the ways to answer them, supplement the detailed reports. Aware of the importance of group experiments in the world of today, the author has included experiments highlighting some special features of group experiments like selections of sample, design of group experiments and treatment of group data. The author has also taken care to avoid use of costly apparatus to carry out the experiments worked out in the book, depending largely on locally improvised materials. This is an invaluable book for students and teachers of psychology, especially for those in Indian universities.

The typical survey course in psychology has time for only limited presentation of the research on which our knowledge is based. As a result, many students come away with a limited understanding of the role of experiments in psychological science. Where do experiments come from and how are they conducted? What are the pitfalls and how can we avoid them? What advantages do they have over intuition, authority, and common sense as guides to knowing and acting? What distinguishes research-based psychology from psychobabble? What have we learned from experimentation in psychology? This book presents, in more depth than textbook treatment permits, the background, conduct, and implications of a selection of classic experiments in psychology. The selection is designed to be diverse, showing that even for research in vastly different areas of study, the logic of research remains the same—as do its traps and pitfalls. This book will broaden and deepen the understanding of experimental methods in psychological research, examining where the research questions come from, how questions can be turned into experiments, and how researchers have faced the problems presented by research in psychology.