E-PRIME的时间精度问题(原理)讲义.docVIP

E-PRIME的时间精度问题 张豹 2006-2-22 E-PRIME经过一系列的测试，包括在用英特尔处理器的奔腾(Pentium)系列和赛扬（Celeron）系列的台式机和笔记本电脑，处理器从60MHZ到现在的GHZ，结果发现当机器大于120MHZ时，E-PRIME能产生毫秒计精度的时间。E-PRIME采用微秒的时钟进行计时。相对于一定的外部硬件，这种时间精度的测试是稳定的。影响时间的一些计算机常识问题： 完全精确到毫秒的计算机是没有的，一般的计算机的操作系统的任何程序的运行会占用时间，即使一个程序是在读取一个毫秒精度的时钟，这个精度也只是说明准确性只是真实地反击了计算机是完全自由地读取时钟。当一个软件在现代操作系统上运行时经常会出现这样的情况：序列地读取时钟之间的差异通常会大于1ms。因为硬件上的时钟是独立而且连续地运行的，所以这种结果只有可能是由于程序在运行时会有一些时钟停顿地读取。 （其中涉及的概念：“miss tick rate”——通过软件读取时间TICK时所缺失的时间百分比。其中最大的时间缺失为“maximum miss tick dauation”）Operationally, E-Prime defines the interpretation of millisecond precision as the ability to report any reaction time or timing duration such that: E-PRIME对毫秒级精确度的操作定义是能够报告任何如下的反应时间或是持续时间的能力： 1. a measured and reported timing precision standard deviation is less than half a millisecond. 一个测量和报告的时间精度标准差少于0.5ms。 2. recordings are within a millisecond from the time they are available to computer hardware. When errors occur, they should be detectable, should not increase measurement variance by more than 1ms2 . The investigator should have a method available to identify and filter out timing data that is in error. 3. screen refreshes (displays of the full screen) can be tracked without misses 99.9% of the time, and misses can be detected and reported.Computer Recorded Variance = Human Variance + Measurement Variance 一般相对于Human Variance来说，Measurement Variance（在EPRIME中少于1ms2）所占的比例很小，可以忽略。Problems Reporting Timing Accuracy in Computerized Behavioral Research影响行为研究时间精度的一些问题： 1. Computer operating systems can falsely report timing data. 2. Actual durations can be significantly longer and deviate from the intended durations specified. 3. Displays are accomplished via refresh cycles. Refresh cycles are rarely multiples of the intended display duration and cannot be restarted during an experiment. 4. Accurately measuring and reporting timing, then debugging an experiment can be difficult.问题一、Computer operating systems can falsely report timing data. 计算机操作系统错误报告时间数据 在一般的行为实验中要报告计算机屏幕的刷新频率，