Emotional Dot-Probe Task (EmoDot)

Field	Value
Name	Emotional Dot-Probe Task (EmoDot)
Version	v1.1.3
URL / Repository	https://github.com/TaskBeacon/T000003-emodot
Short Description	Emotional/neutral face-pair dot-probe task for attentional bias and EEG
Created By	Zhipeng Cao (zhipeng30@foxmail.com)
Date Updated	2026-03-02
PsyFlow Version	0.1.9
PsychoPy Version	2025.1.1
Modality	Behavior/EEG
Language	Chinese
Voice Name	zh-CN-YunyangNeural

1. Task Overview

EmoDot presents face pairs followed by a left/right dot target. Participants respond with f/j to indicate target side.

2. Task Flow

Block-Level Flow

• Load config, runtime mode, triggers, window, and stimuli.
• Present instructions, then run block/trial loops from main.py.
• Save behavioral outputs and close runtime resources.

Trial-Level Flow

• pre_face_fixation: fixation onset.
• face_pair_preview: emotional/neutral face pair display.
• dot_probe_response: dot-probe response window with key capture.

Controller Logic

• Trial condition scheduling uses BlockUnit.generate_conditions() from config-defined task.conditions.
• Face assets are selected by condition via AssetPool with deterministic seeded shuffle/replenish behavior.
• Correct key is derived from target side (L/R) encoded in condition tokens.

Runtime Modes

• Human (default): python main.py
• QA: python main.py qa --config config/config_qa.yaml
• Scripted sim: python main.py sim --config config/config_scripted_sim.yaml
• Sampler sim: python main.py sim --config config/config_sampler_sim.yaml

3. Configuration Summary

• config/config.yaml: base human run profile
• config/config_qa.yaml: QA/dev profile (20-trial smoke run)
• config/config_scripted_sim.yaml: scripted simulation profile
• config/config_sampler_sim.yaml: sampler simulation profile

a. Subject Info

Field	Type	Constraints
subject_id	int	3 digits, 101-999
subname	string	free text
age	int	5-60
gender	choice	Male, Female

b. Window Settings

Key	Value
size	[1920, 1080]
units	deg
screen	1
bg_color	black
fullscreen	true
monitor_width_cm	59.7
monitor_distance_cm	72

c. Stimuli

Stimulus ID	Type	Role
fixation	text	central fixation cross
left_stim, right_stim	image	face pair cue stage
left_target, right_target	circle	probe target for side discrimination
instruction_text	textbox	pre-task instruction
block_break	text	inter-block feedback
good_bye	textbox	task completion screen

d. Timing

Timing Key	Human Config
fixation_duration	[0.8, 1.0]
cue_duration	0.5
interval_duration	[0.4, 0.6]
target_duration	1.0

Assets and Copyright Workaround

Original emotional face stimuli are not committed because of copyright constraints. This repo includes placeholder BMP assets for QA/sim/contract validation only.

See assets/README.md for:

• placeholder naming contract (HF*, HM*, NEF*, NEM*, SAF*, SAM*)
• how to replace placeholders with licensed task stimuli
• expected path/location requirements

Outputs

• Human: outputs/human/
• QA: outputs/qa/
• Scripted sim: outputs/sim/
• Sampler sim: outputs/sim_sampler/

Task Notes

• Trigger config uses structured schema: triggers.map/driver/policy/timing.
• Trial responder context is wired in src/run_trial.py via set_trial_context(...).
• Task-specific sampler is in responders/task_sampler.py.

Runtime Context Phases

Phase Label	Meaning
pre_face_fixation	pre face fixation stage in src/run_trial.py responder context.
face_pair_preview	face pair preview stage in src/run_trial.py responder context.
dot_probe_response	dot probe response stage in src/run_trial.py responder context.

4. Methods (for academic publication)

Participants view emotional/neutral face pairs followed by a lateralized dot probe and respond with f/j to indicate probe side. Each trial uses a fixation stage, a face-pair preview stage, and a response stage for probe discrimination. The paradigm targets attentional bias quantification under controlled visual timing and trigger-synchronized execution.