Psych_204A_Python_Scripts.md

Psych 204A Python Scripts

This guide explains how to pull the latest class scripts and run the Python version of the resting-state simulation on a Mac.

Recommended Python version: 3.10 or newer.

1) Open Terminal and go to your local course folder

cd /path/to/your/local/repo/teach/psych221

If you are already in the repo, you can check with:

pwd

2) Get the latest files from GitHub

git pull

3) Create a Python virtual environment (first time only)

python3 -m venv .venv

Activate it:

source .venv/bin/activate

You should now see (.venv) at the start of your Terminal prompt.

4) Install required packages

python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements.txt

The requirements.txt file in this folder contains:

• numpy
• scipy
• matplotlib

Notes:

• The first run may take a bit longer (for example, Matplotlib font cache setup).
• On later runs, this step is usually fast.

5) Run the script

From the teach/psych221 folder:

python restingState.py

The script will:

• Print correlation and kurtosis values to the Terminal
• Open figures showing signal scrubbing and ICA spatial examples

6) Next time you run (quick start)

cd /path/to/your/local/repo/teach/psych221
source .venv/bin/activate
git pull
python restingState.py

7) If something fails

python: command not found

Try:

python3 restingState.py

ModuleNotFoundError for numpy/scipy/matplotlib

Make sure your environment is activated and reinstall:

source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Plot window does not appear

If using a remote session, run locally on your laptop desktop session.

8) Reproducibility

restingState.py uses a fixed random seed, so outputs are reproducible across runs on the same software stack.