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A portable system for studying discrete‐trial group choice
Author(s) -
Sokolowski Michel B. C.,
Tonneau François,
Cordevant MarieAlix
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1938-3711
pISSN - 0022-5002
DOI - 10.1002/jeab.140
Subject(s) - computer science , protocol (science) , artificial intelligence , human–computer interaction , medicine , pathology , alternative medicine
Whether groups of people or animals behave optimally in relation to resources is an issue of interest to psychology, ecology, and economics. In behavioral ecology, the simplest model of optimal group choice is the ideal free distribution (IFD). The IFD model has been tested in humans with discrete or continuous inputs and through manual or automated procedures (e.g., Kraft, Baum, & Burge, 2002; Madden, Peden, & Yamagushi, 2002). Manual procedures tend to be time consuming, however, whereas automated procedures typically require access to a computer network. In this article, we describe a new automated system for discrete‐trial tests of the IFD model. Our protocol involves a single computer connected to a digital projector (for stimulus presentation) and a network of gamepads (for registering choices). The system is comparatively inexpensive, easy to install, easy to transport, and it permits the automated collection of group data in minimal time. We show that the data generated through this protocol are comparable to those previously reported in the IFD literature.