Py-Span-Task is a simple application for testing working memory span. It follows the recommendations given in Conway, Kane, Bunting, Hambrick, Wilhelm, & Engle (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2005) and can be configured to perform operation span tests and reading span tests. If you are creative, you may also be able to teach it to perform other similar tests. Py-Span-Task saves a protocol of the test procedure into a simple text file that can be further analysed in statistical programs such as R or SPSS.
Py-Span-Task is written in Python and uses the TK-toolkit for graphical user interfaces. On Linux and OS X systems, the necessary software for running Py-Span-Task should already be installed. Running Py-Span-Task on Windows may require installing Python (which usually already includes the TK-toolkit).
Here's is a list of test batteries that are currently available in this repository.
- Spanish operation span task used in von der Malsburg & Vasishth (Language and Cognitive Processes, 2013)
- Operation span task with German instructions
- German reading span task
We wrote the first version of Py-Span-Task in 2010. Since then, researchers in a number of labs have successfully used this software to obtain working memory scores. The software can thus be considered to be relatively reliable and ready for production use.
Operation and reading span tests play an important role in our research area. Applications for testing working memory span were already available, however, running them required expensive software licenses. Since these memory tests are actually relatively simple, we decided to write our own software. Apart from saving money another benefit is that we know exactly what the software is doing and that we can fix it ourselves when something doesn't work as it is supposed to. Since we publish the code for our test software, other researchers can also check how exactly we obtained our data.
Yes, everybody is invited to freely use our software and we will soon provide a manual and example configurations showing how to run different types of tests. We may also provide material for tests in several languages. You can use, modify, and improve this material if you want. Note, however, that we can't take any responsibility for the correctness of the software or its results.
If you use our software in your research, we would be happy if you could acknowledge that in your publications. There is currently no paper about this software that could be cited. Simply mention the name of the software so that other people can find it on the web.
Yes, feel free to do so. If you modify the test software or the test material, please consider sharing these changes with us so that we may integrate them in our version. If you create new test material, or if you translate one of our tests into another language, we would also be happy to integrate these materials in our repository. Your contribution will be duly acknowledged on this page.
Yes, it does, provided that your configuration files and test materials are saved with the appropriate character encoding and provided that you are using a font that supports these scripts. On OS X and modern Linux distributions, the best solution is to encode all your files in UTF-8. It is likely that they are already saved in this encoding and in this case you are ready to roll. Windows is a different matter, because (to my knowledge) it doesn't use UTF-8 by default. Create a new entry in the issue tracker in case you run into problems on Windows and we will help you to fix it.
If you find bugs in the software, or errors in the material, please let us know and we will fix them. For reporting the problem, please use the issue tracker provided by Github. The issue tracker can also be used for feature requests.
Py-Span-Task was originally written by Titus von der Malsburg during his dissertation project in Shravan Vasishth's lab at the University of Potsdam. Paul Metzner and Bruno Nicenboim made various contributions in the form of suggestions for improvements, code, and test batteries.