Feedback

Development of a Free Psychological Testing Battery Platform

Institution: Michigan Technological University
Funders (538)
Views (495)

Why This Project Is Important 

Currently, psychological testing is dominated by expensive proprietary tests that have for the most part been developed using public research money. The licensing costs associated with testing makes access difficult or expensive in many contexts and prevents access to useful testing in many other contexts where funding is limited (schools, prisons, university research) or unavailable (underdeveloped and developing countries). Improving accessibility of high-quality psychological tests to these usage communities will have a substantial impact on the quality of both new research and current mental health care.

Project Description 

The PEBL Test battery (http://pebl.sourceforge.net), whose testing and development is lead by Dr. Mueller in the Michigan Technological University Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, has a mission to bring a high-quality and validated set of computerized psychological tests to clinicians and researchers around the world.

Its open source test battery currently consists of approximately 100 psychological tests, and has been used in over 100 published research papers, and is used by researchers and clinicians around the world. Funding this project will help to translate the current version to mobile computing platforms, as well as support the further development and norming of new psychological tests.

This project is intended to help support further development of the PEBL system, including:

  1. Easy methods for translating tests to other languages
  2. Improving PEBL infrastructure to enable better distributed data management and sharing
  3. Development of a PEBL Experiment Generator tool
  4. Collection of normative data sets to enable use in diagnostic contexts.
  5. Development of additional training material and workshops to help new users.

Meet the Researcher

Shane Mueller

Assoc. Professor in Applied Cognitive Science, Cognitive Modeling, and Human Factors at Michigan Technological University. Studies Memory, Decision making, and knowledge representation. Developer of PEBL, the Psychology Experiment Building Language. ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7418-4592



Questions for the Researcher

elmanning's picture
Edward Manning  July 7, 2014 - 3:21pm
I think this is very interesting and am happy to support it, but I do have a question. My understanding of current CPT codes is that computerized testing is an acceptable procedure for billing (96103, 96120) but that this billing is capped at 1 hour, unlike face-to-face testing by a Psychologist/Neuropsychologist and/or a Psychometrist under supervision. Have you taken this into consideration? Regards, Ed Manning
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  July 7, 2014 - 4:27pm
Ed, Thank you for your support. I really don't know anything about medical billing procedures. Most PEBL users are using it in research contexts and so not paying per-use license fees is important. If you have ideas about what it would take to better support clinical testing, I'd be interested in listening and learning.
grahamathome's picture
graham bean  September 3, 2014 - 7:30am
Hello, I wonder if you can help. I made a donation but did not get a password. Would you tell me how I can get that password. Many thanks
Superior Ideas's picture
Superior Ideas  September 3, 2014 - 10:29am
Shane will be sending you a personal email with the password information soon. Please let us know if you have any other questions! Thank you very much for your donation!
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  September 3, 2014 - 10:32am
Hi, The response system is not automated, so I get notified when a donation is made, and then send an email containing passcode and other information. You should have gotten this by now, but I'm replying here as an FYI for future donors. I usually respond as soon as I see the notification email, although responses can at times be delayed I am not available. If you have not received a response within 48 hours, please contact shanem at mtu dot edu.
carlosramos's picture
Carlos Alberto  November 7, 2014 - 7:09pm
Hello, my name is Carlos I am from Ecuador and I work as neuropsychologist. I am using the PEBL in my PhD Thesis and traslating some tests for using with children that speak in spanish, you can see one experiment in spanish using PEBL in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceW8Q4eEFLE&list=UUBagjxhvsXkSEB04ujHqyCQ And, I want to know if I could receive the password for using PEBL. Regards, Carlos
mrmoon's picture
marie mooney  March 7, 2015 - 11:01am
I've used the test battery for a course I taught and the students really enjoyed working with it. I would love to see improvements to the interface and a mobile version, so I'm happy to donate. Thank you for the wonderful resource!
mrbidhendi's picture
reza bidhendi  April 26, 2015 - 9:07am
I install the PEBL but I couldn't lunch the battery on my system. I was wondering what the problem is and how to solve it. Thank you very much for your brilliant work.
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  April 27, 2015 - 4:48pm
Please email me at my university email or the pebl list with more details about what you did and what worked/didn't work, including what OS you are using. You should try stand-alone version to make sure it works.
rb_bruno's picture
Raimondo Bruno  June 11, 2015 - 11:24pm
I'm using PEBL in my lab, the new updates are excellent - thank you. I'd like to donate; I tried to donate but the website refuses my credit card. My best guess as to why is that your forms assume that everybody in the world lives in a US state, so you are forced to select a US state when you enter your address. When that doesn't check against the card details, the transaction fails.
Superior Ideas's picture
Superior Ideas  June 12, 2015 - 9:02am
Thank you for your interest in the PEBL software. When making a donation, you actually don't have to select a state. You can always select N/A (first option). Superior Ideas accepts transactions from all around the world. Please let us know if you have any other questions! Thanks again for your interest.
liztemple's picture
Liz Temple  August 7, 2015 - 1:23am
Hi, I want to run PEBL across 4-8 computers for my study - can the one password be used for all or will I need as many passwords as computers?
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  August 25, 2015 - 5:27pm
The password just allows you to bypass the splash screen. Feel free to use it on as many computers as you want, to make running studies easier.
yurir's picture
Yuri Rassovsky  December 12, 2015 - 5:29am
Dear Shane, I've installed PEBL on OSX El Capitan but encountered a number of problems. 1. Opening the app did not create the exp directory. I've created a folder a folder pebl-exp.0.14 myself, which resolved this issue. 2. The GUIs are unreadable. Thanks Yuri
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  December 13, 2015 - 12:29pm
Yuri, I've recently gotten reports of bugs like this when installing PEBL on el capitan. I need to recompile on OSX after updating various libraries for it to work--apple is traditionally pretty cavalier about breaking things in new versions. I hope to update/recompile over winter break, so stay tuned. Shane
yurir's picture
Yuri Rassovsky  December 15, 2015 - 4:01am
Thanks a lot. Yuri
DianaPM's picture
Diana Pili  December 15, 2015 - 4:09pm
Hi, I wanted to donate and be sent the password to use the test battery but when it comes to what comes immediately after the 'Submit payment' button my browser warns me the connection is not secure. Would it be possible to use a different method of payment, e.g. Paypal ? Thank you very much. Best. Diana
Superior Ideas's picture
Superior Ideas  December 15, 2015 - 4:40pm
Hi Diana! Thank you for your interest in the PEBL project on Superior Ideas. The only alternative method of payment would be to submit a check for the donation. Superior Ideas uses Touchnet as the primary credit card processing application. Credit card payments are processed in compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). PCI DSS is a worldwide information security standard assembled by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.
DianaPM's picture
Diana Pili  December 17, 2015 - 8:15am
Ok, I have donated now. Looking forward to receiving the password for PEBL. Thank you very much for sharing your hard work, I will spread the word.
Superior Ideas's picture
Superior Ideas  December 17, 2015 - 12:26pm
Thank you for the contribution! You will receive an email from the project creator with the password. Thanks again for your interest in this project, we hope you enjoy it!
apoorva's picture
Apoorva Safai  December 18, 2015 - 10:32am
Hi, I am interested in donating to your project, and use your test battery for my research purpose. Before that I just wanted to know,will the results that I get in the test report be in terms of percentile score/t score/z score after being compared with some normative database ? Thanks!
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  December 18, 2015 - 11:46am
There is no need to donate in order to use the tests, so you can evaluate output and reporting right now. We have some normative data from a handful of tests that is coming out in publication soon, but these are not yet linked to test reports, and it would depend on the test, and also the population you are interested in (these are typically western college students). I am also spearheading a multi-national normative study, so if you are interested in contributing to it, please let me know.
apoorva's picture
Apoorva Safai  January 10, 2016 - 2:05am
Hi, I am interested in using The Continuous Performance Test, that is similar to the Conners CPT. We havent yet started acquiring the data, but we would surely like to contribute to your database in the future. Thanks!
erikmoore's picture
Erik Moore  March 12, 2016 - 11:17am
Hi, I am interested in using the PEBL TOAV. Are there any age norms to apply to the data? Thank you.
Behtab's picture
Behtab AbuAli  April 13, 2016 - 4:11am
Hi, I would like to contribute in PEBL project by translating the tests into my native language, Persian. How can I get more information on how to do it?
guilleneuro's picture
Guillermo Escobar  April 16, 2016 - 6:04pm
Hi. Guillermo Escobar am , I live in Colombia . I am studying master's degree in neuropsychology and education. I need to use PEBL , for my research on working memory. I already made the donation . Please send the password PEBL . Thank you very much .
AhmadSheida's picture
Ahmad Sheida  April 24, 2016 - 1:29pm
Hi, I am Ahmad Sheida, I live in IRI and I am IT security man, I use this nice project for my master degree projects and it was so successful thesis. but I think many other things must added to it, for example more user friendly and some graphs to show the results better.
mariana's picture
mariana nendissa  July 22, 2016 - 2:33am
Dear shane, Thank you for make PEBL as an open source. I am trying to be familiar with PEBL by “let me try first”and I plan to using PEBL on my research. I have already donate 10 US$ a week ago and waiting for the password. Do You mind let me know when can I get the password ? Kind regard mariana
shaunaghhendry's picture
Shaunagh Hendry  September 2, 2016 - 7:22am
Hi there, I made a donation a week or so ago and I'm just waiting for a password. Where/when would I be able to get one? Thank you for allowing access to the PEBL I plan on using it for my dissertation. Many thanks.
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  September 2, 2016 - 8:49am
Shaunagh, Please check your inbox and maybe your spam--I believe I sent something a week ago and I have resent now. If I have incorrect contact information, contact me directly and I'll get you the information Shane Mueller
drshepard's picture
William Shepard  September 28, 2016 - 2:49pm
Any normative data sets available for the Clock Test? I utilize it as a research measure as part of an adult ADHD assessment battery. I also have a (very small) data set from the Clock Test that I'd be willing to contribute, stratified by age, gender, race, education level, and eventual diagnosis post-assessment.
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  September 28, 2016 - 3:14pm
William, I know of no norm on our clock test--although I do know of a couple of small-scale studies people have done that help establish validity. We are in the process of putting together an open data archive that will enable data contributions just like yours--this will probably be active by the end of the semester. If you'd like to contribute, having your data available (raw data files + accompanying data such as demographics) will help up understand the best ways to incorporate the normative information. If you'd like to contribute the data as a sample data set, please contact me at shanem at mtu.edu and we can discuss.
mtkheirkhah's picture
mohammad kheirkhah  November 11, 2016 - 5:18pm
hi there, I want to translate the tasks in Persian but PEBL do not support Farsi. can you help me? thanks.
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  November 12, 2016 - 8:00am
Hi, I think Persian/Farsi is right-to-left? If so, the current text layout engine we use doesn't support that, and the default font probably won't either. The font is not a big issue to change, but the RTL issue is. Sometimes if you give it the text backward line-by-line, the layout will be acceptable. However, users will typically just make a image screenshot of instructions and main text and replace any text layout within the script for anything moderately complicated. Contact me at shanem@mtu.edu if you have specific questions.
Marc Belles's picture
Marc Belles  March 27, 2017 - 3:22am
Hi, I made a donation two weeks ago and I got no pasword so far. when would I be able to get it? thanks in advance
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  April 5, 2017 - 10:05am
You should have now received the password via email. Thanks!
gazevedo's picture
Grace Monteiro  May 20, 2017 - 8:26am
Would like to contribute with translation to portuguese.
tharaka's picture
Tharaka Thanthriarachchi  June 27, 2017 - 6:33pm
Can you provide a list of psychological tools available with this software ? Is it Linux supportive ?
giovannamedina's picture
Giovanna Medina  November 13, 2017 - 7:23pm
Hello, I made a donation and I would like to know how long it will take to get the password. Thank you very much, Giovnna
Andrea Bosco's picture
Andrea Bosco  November 25, 2017 - 11:13am
I was very happy to make a donation 8 days ago for this amazing project. Now, I am awaiting for the pw. Do you have any news about it? Andrea
cperhaps9's picture
lu tianjiao  February 1, 2018 - 4:26am
hello, I made a donation a week or so ago and I'm just waiting for a password. Where/when would I be able to get one? Thank you for allowing access to the PEBL I plan on using it for my dissertation. Many thanks.my e-mail AD:psyluser@163.com
ghalkhani's picture
manochehr ghalkhani  February 19, 2018 - 2:07am
Hello I installed PEBLE software on my computer, but none of the files and tests are loaded. Does the software work with Windows 8.1? Should I get a license to use the software?
shanem's picture
Shane Mueller (Researcher)  February 19, 2018 - 5:50pm
It should work on 8.1 no problem. There might be an issue with either (1) you may have tried to install from a user that does not have administrator access. If it went through the installer but then the menu option PEBL2 does not appear, this is probably the issue; (2) exactly how your user/documents directory is defined. It should work OK, except there might be some problems if you have a IT-managed computer or something where it maps Documents\ directory to a remote drive or something. If the pebl-exp.2.0 folder appears in Documents but is empty, you can try deleting it and running PEBL again which should recopy the tests over. If you can't get these to work, the main workaround is using the standalone version that will run off your desktop and does not require installation.
dsattali's picture
David Attali  May 31, 2018 - 11:58am
Hello, Thanks you for all your work, PEBL is great! I made a donation on May 18, 2018. Could you please send me a password ? My email : dsattali@gmail.com Thanks a lot!
jwxiong's picture
jw xiong  June 26, 2018 - 12:50am
Hi Sir. Thanks for the great work of PEBL. I have made the donation just now on June 26th,2018. May I know when I can receive the password? My email is jwxiong@ntu.edu.sg
Andrew's picture
Andrew Maki  July 12, 2018 - 9:59pm
Hello! I already donated and I'm still waiting for the code. How long does it take normally?
desiree.blaze's picture
Desiree Price  December 7, 2018 - 12:02am
Hello. I made a donation but have not received a password for PEBL application.... :( Is this some type of scam???
giordano's picture
Magda Giordano  January 10, 2019 - 4:11pm
We would like to use a subset of tests in PEBL with Spanish speakers. We would like to contribute by sharing the translations of the instructions for these tests. How can we do that? Thanks.
Wiki Tay's picture
Wiki Tay  February 28, 2019 - 9:55am
Hi, Thank you for this wonderful software I made a donation on Feb 11, 2019. Could you please send me a password? My email: w.tay@uea.ac.uk I would appreciate if I can have the password asap. Thank you so much!
gluvizutto's picture
Gustavo Luvizutto  May 8, 2019 - 11:10pm
Hello, I wonder if you can help. I made a donation but did not get a password. Would you tell me how I can get that password. Many thanks

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment

Please log in or register to post questions or comments.

$6,596
of $5,000 fund goal
The average donation for this project is $12
10
days left
132%
funded
$1
last

What Your Donation Can Help Us Do: 

  • Support Michigan Tech students and staff to develop, test, document, and distribute the PEBL software.
  • Help build infrastructure to better allow members of the PEBL community to help improve PEBL via distributed norm collection, translations, and community outreach.

$1 538 Funders

Launcher Password

PEBL is free to use, but by donating, you get a password that allows you direct immediate access to the PEBL launcher.

Recent Donors


Some donors may be hidden.

Gifts to projects listed on SUPERIORIDEAS.ORG are received and processed by Michigan Tech Fund. Michigan Tech Fund is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code acting on behalf of Michigan Technological University. It is the policy of Michigan Tech Fund that a portion of the gifts and/or income therefrom may be used to defray the costs of raising and administering the funds.