Science needs you: Test your word power on iPhone / iPad with Science XL free app

authors

• Dufau Stéphane
• Group Science Xl

keywords

• Science Smartphone Cognition Lexical decision

document type

abstract

Investigating human cognitive faculties such as language, attention, and memory most often relies on testing small and homogeneous groups of volunteers coming to research facilities where they are asked to participate in behavioral experiments. We show that this limitation and sampling bias can be overcome by using smartphone technology to collect data in cognitive science experiments from thousands of subjects from all over the world. This mass coordinated use of smartphones creates a novel and powerful scientific “instrument” that yields the data necessary to test universal theories of cognition. This increase in power represents a potential revolution in cognitive science. Here, the video shows how a participant could interact with the software interface.

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