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*Adaptive Composite Complex Span Test (ACCES)*
Subtest: Operation Span Test (OSPAN)
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Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com) for Millisecond Software, LLC
Date: 05-29-201904
last updated: 11-06-2023 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com) for Millisecond Software, LLC
Script Copyright © 11-06-2023 Millisecond Software
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BACKGROUND INFO
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This script implements the Operation Span test subtest of the Adaptive Composite Complex Span Test (ACCES);
an adaptive test of working memory with visuospatial ("symmetry span test"), mathematical ("operation span test")
and verbal subtests ("reading span test").
The ACCES was developed by Gonthier et al (2018). According to the authors "the test presents a fixed number
of trials to all participants, allows for partial credit scoring, and can be used with children regardless
of ability level. The ACCES demonstrated satisfying psychometric properties in a sample of 268 children
aged 8–13 years." (p.910)
All materials for the ACCES – including the stimuli, an open source implementation
of the task script under PsychoPy (Peirce, 2007), and all validation data – can be accessed via the Open Science
Framework platform at https://osf.io/bk7pm/.
Norms in this script (based on grade level) use the data provided by Gonthier et al (2018)
collected with a sample of French students.
Reference:
Gonthier, C., Thomassin, N., & Roulin, J.-L. (2016). The Composite Complex Span:
French validation of a short working memory task. Behavior Research Methods, 48(1), 233-242.
doi:10.?3758/?s13428-015-0566-3
Gonthier C, Aubry A, Bourdin B. (2018). Measuring working memory capacity in children using adaptive tasks:
Example validation of an adaptive complex span. Behav Res Methods. Jun;50(3):910-921.
doi: 10.3758/s13428-017-0916-4. PMID: 28643158.
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TASK DESCRIPTION
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Participants work on 6 operation span test trials. Levels for each trial (after the first) are adapted
based on performance.
Operation Span Test: a dual task involving the evaluation of simple math problems (e.g. '2 + 2 = 5') while
also studying letters for a later recall test:
Evaluation of Math Problem -> Letter Learning -> Evaluation of Math Problem -> Letter Learning.....-> Letter Recall
The number of 'Math-evaluations/Letter learning' combos depends on the level of difficulty (=span size) of the current
test trial. All participants start at level 4. Depending on performance they move up, stay on the same level,
or go down a level. The lowest level tested is level 2; the highest level tested is level 8.
The task provides 3 practice session before the actual 6 test trials are run:
Practice 1: training of the letter recall task
Practice 2: training of the math evaluation task
Practice 3: dual training of the combined task
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DURATION
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the default set-up of the script takes appr. 9 minutes to complete
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DATA FILE INFORMATION
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The default data stored in the data files are:
(1) Raw data file: 'acces_ospan_raw*.iqdat' (a separate file for each participant)*
build: The specific Inquisit version used (the 'build') that was run
computer.platform: the platform the script was run on (winmaciosandroid)
date, time: date and time script was run
subject, group: with the current subject/groupnumber
session: with the current session id
blockcode, blocknum: the name and number of the current block (built-in Inquisit variable)
trialcode, trialnum: the name and number of the currently recorded trial (built-in Inquisit variable)
Note: trialnum is a built-in Inquisit variable; it counts all trials run; even those
that do not store data to the data file such as feedback trials. Thus, trialnum
may not reflect the number of main trials run per block.
age: the entered age of the participant
gradeLevel: the entered grade level of the participant
gender: the entered gender of the participant
phase: stores the name of the current task phase
RoundCount: counts the rounds ("trials") run in the current phase
currentLevel: stores the levelspansize tested in the current round
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Processing Task Variables:
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ProcessingTaskProblem: stores the current processing task problem (e.g. math problem) presented
correctResponse: stores the correct response to the current processing task problem (TRUE vs. FALSE)
processingTaskResponse: stores the given response to the current processing task problem (TRUE vs. FALSE)
processingTaskACC: stores the accuracy of the processing task response
1 = correct
0 = error
processingTaskCumACC: stores the number of correct processing task responses
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Memory Task Variables:
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stim: stores the current recall stim (e.g. letter) presented
currentStims: stores the collected recall stims of the current round in the order presented
recallResponse: stores the recall stims of the current round in the order selected on the recall matrix
numberStimsRecalled: stores the number of correctly recalled stims of the current round
Total_StimsRecalled: stores the total number of correctly recalled stims during the current task
stimulusitem: the presented stimuli in order of trial presentation of the currently recorded trial
response: the participant's response of the currently recorded trial
correct: accuracy of response: 1 = correct response; 0 = otherwise of the currently recorded trial
latency: the response latency (in ms) of the current trial
(2) Summary data file: 'acces_ospan_summary*.iqdat' (a separate file for each participant)*
inquisit.version: Inquisit version run
computer.platform: the platform the script was run on (win/mac/ios/android)
startDate: date script was run
startTime: time script was started
subjectid: assigned subject id number
groupid: assigned group id number
sessionid: assigned session id number
elapsedTime: time it took to run script (in ms); measured from onset to offset of script
completed: 0 = script was not completed (prematurely aborted);
1 = script was completed (all conditions run)
age: the entered age of the participant
gradeLevel: the entered grade level of the participant
gender: the entered gender of the participant
os_duration_ins: the OSPAN task duration in seconds
os_Total_StimsRecalled: the total number of letters recalled across all 6 OSPAN test rounds
os_zScore: the calculated z-score of the total number of recalled letters across all 6 OSPAN test rounds
os_percentile: the calculated percentile of the z-score of the total number of recalled letters across all 6 OSPAN test trials
Note: mean and standard deviation used to calculate z-scorespercentile ranks are based on published data
by Gonthier et al (2018) using a sample of French students. For more detail see Gonthier et al (2018).
list.os_processingACC_overall.mean: the mean proportion correct Processing Task ('math problems') performance across
all 6 OSPAN test rounds
os_processingTaskFlag: 1 = the mean proportion correct OSPAN Processing Task ('math problems') performance is below 70% correct
(OSPAN performance is flagged)
0 = otherwise (OSPAN performance is not flagged)
list.os_currentLevels.mean: the average OSPAN span size worked on
list.os_currentLevels.minimum: the minimum OSPAN span size worked on (lowest possible span size tested: 2)
list.os_currentLevels.maximum: the maximum OSPAN span size worked on (highest possible span size tested: 8)
os_Level2Count: number of times span size 2 was run during the OSPAN
os_Level3Count: number of times span size 3 was run during the OSPAN
os_Level4Count: number of times span size 4 was run during the OSPAN
os_Level5Count: number of times span size 5 was run during the OSPAN
os_Level6Count: number of times span size 6 was run during the OSPAN
os_Level7Count: number of times span size 7 was run during the OSPAN
os_Level8Count: number of times span size 8 was run during the OSPAN
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OSPAN Descriptive Statistics by Round:
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os_level_Round1: OSPAN span size tested during Round 1 (by default: 4)
os_problemCumACC_Round1: number of correctly answered OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') problems during Round 1
os_processingACC_Round1: proportion correct OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') performance during Round 1
os_stims_Round1: the presented OSPAN recall stims ('letters') during Round 1 (in the order presented)
os_recallResponse_Round1: the recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 1 (in the order selected)
os_numberStimsRecalled_Round1: the number of correctly recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 1
os_level_Round2: OSPAN span size tested during Round 2
os_problemCumACC_Round2: number of correctly answered OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') problems during Round 2
os_processingACC_Round2: proportion correct OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') performance during Round 2
os_stims_Round2: the presented OSPAN recall stims ('letters') during Round 2 (in the order presented)
os_recallResponse_Round2: the recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 2 (in the order selected)
os_numberStimsRecalled_Round2: the number of correctly recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 2
os_level_Round3: OSPAN span size tested during Round 3
os_problemCumACC_Round3: number of correctly answered OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') problems during Round 3
os_processingACC_Round3: proportion correct OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') performance during Round 3
os_stims_Round3: the presented OSPAN recall stims ('letters') during Round 3 (in the order presented)
os_recallResponse_Round3: the recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 3 (in the order selected)
os_numberStimsRecalled_Round3: the number of correctly recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 3
os_level_Round4: OSPAN span size tested during Round 4
os_problemCumACC_Round4: number of correctly answered OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') problems during Round 4
os_processingACC_Round4: proportion correct OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') performance during Round 4
os_stims_Round4: the presented OSPAN recall stims ('letters') during Round 4 (in the order presented)
os_recallResponse_Round4: the recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 4 (in the order selected)
os_numberStimsRecalled_Round4: the number of correctly recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 4
os_level_Round5: OSPAN span size tested during Round 5
os_problemCumACC_Round5: number of correctly answered OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') problems during Round 5
os_processingACC_Round5: proportion correct OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') performance during Round 5
os_stims_Round5: the presented OSPAN recall stims ('letters') during Round 5 (in the order presented)
os_recallResponse_Round5: the recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 5 (in the order selected)
os_numberStimsRecalled_Round5: the number of correctly recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 5
os_level_Round6: OSPAN span size tested during Round 6
os_problemCumACC_Round6: number of correctly answered OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') problems during Round 6
os_processingACC_Round6: proportion correct OSPAN Processing Task ('math task') performance during Round 6
os_stims_Round6: the presented OSPAN recall stims ('letters') during Round 6 (in the order presented)
os_recallResponse_Round6: the recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 6 (in the order selected)
os_numberStimsRecalled_Round6: the number of correctly recalled OSPAN stims ('letters') during Round 6
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OSPAN Training Performance:
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os_spanTaskTrainingCount: the number of times the OSPAN span task training was run (OSPAN practice 1)
os_processingTaskTrainingCount: the number of times the OSPAN processing task training was run (OSPAN practice 2)
os_dualTaskTrainingCount: the number of times the OSPAN span task training was run (OSPAN practice 3)
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OSPAN Processing Task duration:
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os_processingTaskMaxDuration: the maximum duration (in ms) that OSPAN processing Task problems ('math problems')
are presented during the Dual Task Training block (=practice3) and the actual Test rounds.
This duration was calculated based on the Median Processing Task Duration during
the Processing Task Training (=practice2):
'OS ProcessingTask medianRT' + 2.5 x 'OS Processing Task MAD RT'
os_processingRT_median: the median response latency answering OSPAN processing task problems ('math problems') during practice2
os_processingRT_MAD: Median Absolute Deviation (MAD) of response latencies answering OSPAN processing task problems during practice2
* separate data files: to change to one data file for all participants (on Inquisit Lab only), go to section
"DATA" and follow further instructions
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EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP
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Note: level = span size
4 phases:
PHASE 1: Practice 1 -Letter Recall Training ("Memory Task")
Participants work on 2 trials (level 2, followed by level 3) with a fixed set of stimuli for each round.
During this phase, they only work on the letter recall task (no math problems are presented)
Trial Sequence:
blank (700ms)->Start Fixation Cross (presented for 1200ms) -> blank (for 500ms) ->
Letter (800ms) -> Blank (800ms) -> Letter (800ms) -> Blank (800ms) -> .......-> Blank (700ms)
-> Recall Screen (as long as needed, corrections possible)
-> Feedback (3000ms)
At the end of Practice1, recall performance is analyzed and the practice block is repeated
IF mean recall performance is under 70% correct.
(recall performance: the number of letters correctly recalled in the exact position of presentation)
PHASE 2: Practice 2 - Math Statement Evaluation Training ("Processing Task")
Participants work on 10 math statements (e.g. "2 + 2 = 6") and evaluate them to be 'true' or 'false'.
The math statements are the same for each participant and are presented in fixed order.
No letter recall task is run.
Trial Sequence:
blank (700ms)->Start Fixation Cross (presented for 1200ms) -> blank (for 500ms) ->
Math Statement (max. 8000ms) -> Feedback (3000ms) -> Blank (150ms) -> Math Statement (max. 8000ms) -> Feedback (3000ms)....
At the end of this practice round, evaluation performance is analyzed and the practice block is repeated
if the proportion correctly evaluated math statements is under 70% correct.
Furthermore, the duration of the math problem presentation for the test trials is calculated:
median time (in ms) the problems were answered + 2.5 x Median Absolute Deviation (MAD).
(Range: 2000ms - 8000ms)
PHASE 3: Practice 3 - Dual Task Training
Participants work on 2 combined trials (level 2, level 3). The stimuli are the same for all participants
and are presented in fixed order.
Trial Sequence:
blank (700ms)->Start Fixation Cross (presented for 1200ms) -> blank (for 500ms) ->
Math Statement (calculated presentation time during practice 2) -> Blank (150ms) ->
Letter (800ms) -> Blank (800ms) ->
Math Statement (calculated presentation time during practice 2) -> Blank (150ms) ->
Letter (800ms) -> Blank (800ms) -> .....
Letter (800ms) -> Blank (700ms) -> Recall Screen -> Summary Feedback (3000ms)
PHASE 4: Test (Dual Task)
Participants work on 6 combined trials (starting level = 4; levels are adjusted based on performance
thereafter). Each trial (1-6) presents the stimuli from the same stimuli lists in the same order
(though not all participants will work on all the possible stimuli of a particular trial as this is
level dependent). No more feedback is provided.
Trial Sequence:
blank (700ms)->Start Fixation Cross (presented for 1200ms) -> blank (for 500ms) ->
Math Statement (calculated presentation time during practice 2) -> Blank (150ms) ->
Letter (800ms) -> Blank (800ms) ->
Math Statement (calculated presentation time during practice 2) -> Blank (150ms) ->
Letter (800ms) -> Blank (800ms) -> .....
Letter (800ms) -> Blank (700ms) -> Recall Screen
During each round, the computer calculates
a. processing task performance (here: math performance)
b. recall performance
- the number of correctly recalled letters
- the total number of correctly recalled letters
At the end of each round, the next level is determined based on recall performance:
1. levels goes down by 1 for recall performance less than 60%
2. levels stay the same for 60% <= recall performance < 100%
3. levels go up by 1 for perfect recall performance (100% correct)
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STIMULI
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All stimuli are provided by Gonthier et al (2018)
All materials for the ACCES – including the stimuli, an open source implementation
of the task script under PsychoPy (Peirce, 2007), and all validation data – can be accessed via the Open Science
Framework platform at https://osf.io/bk7pm/.
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INSTRUCTIONS
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Instructions are modelled after the ones used in the e-prime script provided
by Gonthier et al (2018).
The instructions in this script are provided by as htm/html pages and can be edited by changing the
provided htm/html files. To edit htm/html-files: open the respective documents in simple Text Editors
such as TextEdit (Mac) or Notepad (Windows).
Note: in order for the instructions to reflect alternative parameter settings,
some of the conditionalized code used in the htm files can be found in the script itself.
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EDITABLE CODE
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check below for (relatively) easily editable parameters, stimuli, instructions etc.
Keep in mind that you can use this script as a template and therefore always "mess" with the entire code
to further customize your experiment.
The parameters you can change are (see below):
