Online vs. face-to-face experiments, a Matching to Sample procedure

The COVID-19 pandemic raised the need to adapt face-to-face experimental procedures to remote settings, seeking social distancing and confinement. A compari-son of the learning in a matching-to-sample task bet-ween a group on a traditional experimental situation and an online group is presented. Forty undergraduate students with no previous experience with the experi-mental task participated. The experiment was conduc-ted in a laboratory and online using SuperLab and Su-perLab Remote, respectively. During the training phase participants simulated being defenders of an air raid, and were trained to shoot down enemy airships by choosing one of three comparison stimuli (CoS), in the presence of a specific firing sight (Sample Stimulus, SS); correct responses were reinforced using a 5s VI reinforcement schedule. Results showed similar response rates and percentages of correct responses between groups. The present findings enhance the external validity of the matching-to-sample procedure and sug-gest using online procedures as viable complements and alternatives to traditional laboratory experimentati-on