Coding infant behavior

Some studies may have fixed numbers of trials and lengths of trials; these can run somewhat automatically. But for studies in which trial lengths, or the number of trials, depends on the child's looking behavior, there has to be a method for coding that behavior during the course of the study itself.

BITTSy is set up with default keys for coding (see later section on coding for more details), but these can be altered to fit the preferences of the lab. (However, we generally recommend that the same experiment use the same coding keys for different participants.)

One limitation of BITTSy is that coding is based on a system of Left / Right / Center / Away coding. If you wish to use a simpler Towards / Away coding, you can essentially use the Center coding as "towards" - but this will still require two keys for the coding system, rather than a single key with a press down /lift up option.

If you do not explicitly assign keys for coding, BITTSy will use the default keys:

C = center L = left R = right W = away

Note, though, that for a standard QWERTY keyboard, this puts the key referring to the left on the right side of the keyboard, and the key referring to the right on the left side of the keyboard, which many coders find very unintuitive. You may find it much easier to select a key under the left hand for left looks, and one under the right hand for right looks. Also, note that this is from the viewpoint of the coder - a look to the left from the coder's perspective (facing the child) is a look to the right side of the test space.

If you would instead like to assign your own keys, use this syntax within your optional experimental settings section (see linked page for more info).

ASSIGN <side> KEY <the key you’d like to use>