Čeněk Šašinka

Hypothesis is software for online psychological diagnosis and is the result of work by experts from Masaryk University. Under the leadership of Dr. Čeněk Šašinka, head of the Center for Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Sciences at the Faculty of Arts, this system has been successfully implemented in psychological practice. The Military Hospital in Brno was the first to use it for the diagnosis of army recruits. The software was later licensed by the Central Military Hospital in Prague, which paid the university hundreds of thousands of crowns for it.

The software was originally developed for research purposes, specifically for the field of cartography, where it was used to study the influence of alternative map displays on the way users read them.

Later, the idea arose that the software could also be used in psychological practice. They used support in the form of a Proof of Concept project to further develop it. The Military Hospital in Brno, which already had psychological tests prepared, was also significantly involved in the project at that time. However, for practical use in psychodiagnostics, it was necessary to create standards for a specific population. The Military Hospital was provided with this software and tests with preliminary standards as part of a research collaboration. Thanks to its use and the increasing amount of data obtained, the diagnostic tools themselves have become more accurate.

Another user of the Hypostheis software became the Central Military Hospital in Prague, which decided to license the software on commercial terms on the basis of a tender, and cooperation continues at the scientific level.

The biggest advantage of the Hypothesis software is its great variability of functions and the fact that it is an online tool that combines the quality of a desktop application with the possibilities of an online solution. Compared to other online tools, however, it has solved the issue of time precision. If accurate measurements are required, it is necessary to ensure the same conditions for all test subjects. This also applies to loading test content, where delays can occur in the online environment during communication between the client interface and the server. In situations where eye tracking is part of the test, the synchronization of the test with the eye tracking system must sometimes be accurate to the millisecond.

Other advantages of the Hypothesis software include the fact that it is easy to incorporate test batteries developed for completely different platforms, as well as the possibility of using multiplayer or multitasking functions in diagnostics.

In terms of commercializing scientific output from the humanities, this was a unique case at the time. The humanities have a lot to offer in practice, but this transfer of technology or knowledge usually takes place on a non-commercial basis. This is what makes the collaboration with the Central Military Hospital so exceptional.

Dr. Čeněk Šašinka received the MUNI INNOVATION AWARD 2021 for the Hypothesis software.