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This guide is not a full programming course or a replacement for formal tutorials. Instead, it’s a starting point: a collection of reflections, examples, and recommendations from the perspective of researchers in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. It aims to help you get your bearings and make smart decisions as you begin learning to code — not to teach you everything from scratch.
As such, rather than focusing on a single programming language, this book will introduce you to the most popular languages in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience - Python, R, and MATLAB:
r
# this is a comment in R
example <- 5
examplepython
# this is a comment in Python
example = 5
examplematlab
% this is a comment in MATLAB
example = 5;
example🛠️ Work in Progress!
This document is a living resource — it's continuously evolving as tools, best practices, and our own understanding of programming in cognitive neuroscience grow. It’s not a finished product, and it’s not meant to be consumed as one. You may find sections that are still incomplete or that will change over time.
Want to contribute? We welcome contributions from the community. If you have suggestions or improvements, please let us know!
Table of contents
- Introduction
- Foundations: programming in Psychological science
- Choosing the right tools
- Core concepts
- Hands-on applications
- Good practices
- What's next?
Who are we?
We are a group of postdoctoral researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, with a passion for programming and its applications in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Our goal is to make programming accessible and practical for students and researchers in these fields.
The list below is sorted alphabetically.
License information
The information provided in this book is provided "as-is" without any guarantees or warranties, express or implied, regarding its completeness, accuracy, or reliability. While we strive to keep the content accurate and up-to-date, errors and omissions may occur. Use this information at your own risk, and please verify any critical details independently. We welcome feedback and corrections to improve the accuracy of the content.
The resources listed here are Open Educational Resources (OER) that are free to use, share, copy, and edit, with attribution, following the terms of the specified license.
Please contact Carlos González for any inquiry.