Reaction Time Task Battery for the Touchscreen

Background

The Millisecond 'Reaction Time Task Battery for the Touchscreen' consists of three separate response time tasks that increase in cognitive complexity, providing measures for simple processing speed, simple decision-making speed and complex rule-based decision-making speed as well as motor response coordination. A variant of this reaction time battery was used by Nicole Kochan and colleagues in 2013 in assessing response time declines in older participants at risk for dementia. All three tasks are designed to be run on touchscreens; nevertheless, the tasks adapt to mouse use on non-touchscreen devices. The three tasks can be used independently from each other or within a test battery.

Task Procedure:

Each of the three tasks uses a similar user interface and follows the same, general procedural setup. Each task requires participants to press down on a 'Home Button' (HB), located in the center of the screen, to initiate a target stimulus to appear. If the HB is not continuously held down before target appearance, a visual reminder is provided. Once the target appears, the finger needs to be lifted from the HB and the target needs to be hit (hitting the target erases the stimulus) before returning the finger back to the HB to wait for the next target. Each task introduces the respective procedure with two demo trials, after which participants work on a short practice of max. 10 trials. The practice session has a 'pass' criterium that is reached with five consecutively correct responses. If practice is not passed after a total of 10 trials, the testing terminates. Once practice is passed, the default test phase runs 20 trials. In addition to reporting classic reaction time measures (= measuring the time from onset of target to response), each task reports timing measures for four succinct response stages:

1. The time participants needed between onset of target and lifting the response finger off a dedicated Home Button (A)
2. The time participants needed between lifting finger off the Home Button and pressing down on the target (B)
3. The time participants spent on the target(C)
4. The time participants needed between lifting finger off the target and returning the response finger back to the Home Button (D)

Task1: Simple Reaction Time Task

The Simple Reaction Time task measures simple processing speed. After participants press down on the HB, a random target delay (1000-4000ms) is initiated, after which a yellow square (= the target) is presented above the HB (the target always appears in the same location). Participants need to respond as quickly as possible by touching the yellow square and returning the response finger back to the HB.

Task2: Choice Reaction Time Task

The Choice Reaction Time task measures decision-making speed. Participants see (up to) 5 gray squares arranged in a half circle around the HB. After participants press down on the HB, a random target delay (1000-4000ms) is initiated, after which one of the squares lights up in yellow. Participants need to respond as quickly as possible by touching the yellow square and returning the response finger back to the HB.

Task3: Complex Reaction Time Task

The Complex Reaction Time task measures rule-based decision-making speed. After participants press down on the HB, a target delay of 3000ms is initiated after which a target and a foil square appear, one above the HB and one below it. The squares are either yellow or red. As soon as the two squares appear, participants must touch the top square if both squares are of the same color. They must touch the bottom square if the squares are of different colors. Participants need to respond as quickly as possible before returning the response finger back to the HB.

What it Measures

The 'Reaction Time Task Battery for the Touchscreen' measures simple processing speed, simple decision-making speed and complex rule-based decision-making speed

Psychological domains

• Processing Speed: Ability to quickly perceive a stimulus, process the information, and initiate a response
• Decision Making: Choosing the correct response from multiple alternatives.
• Selective Attention: Ability to discriminate between different stimuli and select the correct one
• Sustained Attention: Ability to maintain focus and quickly adapt one's behavior to current demands

Main Performance Metrics

• Response Times: mean response times (in ms) to stimulus presentation (as well as for all four stages of responding)
• Response Times Variability: response time variability across the task duration

Psychiatric Conditions

A variant of the 'Reaction Time Task Battery for the Touchscreen' has been used with the following patients

• Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia

Test Variations

References

Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Reaction Time Task Battery for the Touchscreen.

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Kochan, N., Bunce, D., Pont, S., Slavin, M., Reppermund, S., Brodaty, H., Crawford, J., Mather, K., Kang, K., & Sachdev, P. (2013). Reaction-time measures predict incident dementia over 4 years: The Sydney Memory and Ageing Study. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 9(4), P536–P536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2013.04.287