Cognitive experiments
Twelve classic experiments in perception, attention, learning and memory, each taking two to four minutes. Each page gives the method, a short practice, the experiment, the participant’s results and the research on which it is based. No previous experience is needed.
Speed and perception
The speed of responses, the comparison of rotated shapes and the detection of faint patterns.
- Reaction timeThe speed of a response to a signal, and the extra time needed to choose between several possible responses.About 2 minutes
- Mental rotationThe comparison of shapes presented at different angles.About 2 minutes
- Contrast thresholdThe faintest striped patch whose location can still be reported.About 2 minutes
Attention
The selection of relevant information, the effect of distraction and the processing of rapid sequences.
- The Stroop effectThe ability to suppress a strong habit, reading a word, when the task is to name the colour of its ink.About 2 minutes
- Visual searchHow attention locates a target among other items, and when the items must be inspected one at a time.About 2 minutes
- The attentional blinkWhether attending to one item in a rapid stream causes a second item that follows soon after it to be missed.About 3 minutes
- The flanker taskThe interference caused by nearby items that call for a different response from the item attended to.About 3 minutes
- Spatial cueingWhether advance information about where a target will appear speeds the response to it, without eye movements.About 3 minutes
Memory and learning
The capacity of short-term memory, errors of recognition memory and the effect of practice.
- Digit spanThe number of items that can be held in mind for a few seconds.About 2 to 3 minutes
- The n-back taskThe continuous updating of the contents of working memory.About 2 minutes
- False memoryThe accuracy of recognition of studied words, and the kinds of error that memory makes.About 4 minutes
- Sequence learningHow responses in a simple four-position task change with practice, and what underlies the change.About 4 minutes
About these experiments
The experiments are educational. They are not tests of ability or health and cannot diagnose any condition.
Timing in a web browser depends on the device, screen and keyboard, so the values are approximate. They are best compared with each other within one session on one device.
Responses and results stay in the browser tab. Nothing is stored or sent, and everything is lost when the page is closed or reloaded.
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