StimulusSet

StimulusSet is a collection of stimuli used in experiments to elicit responses from participants. Stimulus sets may include images, sounds, words, videos, or tactile cues, and are used across psychology, neuroscience, marketing, linguistics, and human-computer interaction.

Each item in a StimulusSet typically includes the sensory stimulus itself and a set of metadata fields: a unique identifier, a title, modality, category, and descriptive tags. Additional data may include source, licensing terms, presentation parameters (duration, order, intensity), and normative ratings such as valence and arousal, familiarity, or difficulty. Some sets also incorporate pilot data, reliability estimates, and demographic restrictions.

Construction and management: Researchers select stimuli to satisfy design constraints, balance conditions, and minimize confounds. Sets are stored in digital repositories or as supplementary materials, with documentation about provenance and versioning. Licensing ranges from open access to restricted use; attribution and ethics approvals apply for participant exposure.

Applications and benefits: StimulusSets facilitate replication and cross-study comparison, enable meta-analyses, and support standardized experimental control. They are shared through repositories, journals, or databases, and increasingly linked to ontologies and search tools to improve discoverability and interoperability.

Formats and examples: Common formats include image files (JPEG, PNG), audio (WAV, MP3), video (MP4), text lists (CSV, JSON), and experimental scripts. Notable examples include the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW).