International Shopping List Task - ISLT

Technical Manual

Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Created: January 12, 2015

Last Modified: January 24, 2023 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC

Background

This script runs the International Shopping List task; a task to assess memory functioning. The implemented procedure is based on:

Thompson, T.A.C., Wilson, P.H., Snyder, P.J., Pietrzak, R.H., Darby, D., Maruff, P. & Herman Buschke, H. (2011). Sensitivity and Test–Retest Reliability of the International Shopping List Test in Assessing Verbal Learning and Memory in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 26, 412–424.

Duration

5 minutes

Description

Test administrator reads a list of 12 (default, editable 2-16 items) everyday shopping items to the test taker. The words appear on the computer screen. A new item is presented every 2s. The screen should only be facing the test administrator.

Immediate Recall: (repeated 3 times) Immediately after the list is read to the test taker, the test taker is asked to recall the items from the shopping list. A screen with all the words as well as buttons for "other words", "undo last entry" and "finish" is visible to the test administator who selects each recalled word with the mouse. The words are ordered alphabetically for easier location. The last selected word can be undone by clicking the "undo last entry" button. If participant does not recall any more words, the "finish" button should be selected to finish the current round.

Delayed Recall: optional (set Editable values -> parameters.runDelayedCondition == true) The procedure is almost the same as described for immediate recall with the exception that the recall screen is called after a delay.

Procedure

The script runs
1. block selectShoppingList => selects the items for the shopping list (item number depends on parameters.numberOfItems -> Editable Values)
(selection is done randomly).

2. 3 immediate recall runs of: block.presentShoppingList followed immediately by the appropriate block.recallShoppingList

block.presentShoppingList:
presents the items of the shopping list one by one in the same order. A new word is
presented every 2s (default; can be edited under Editable Values -> parameters.wordPresentationTimeMS).
Computer should face away from test taker. Test administrator reads the words out loud.
Order of shopping list items presented stays the same for all rounds of testing.

block.recallShoppingList:
The interface shows buttons for every word in the shopping list in ALPHABETICAL order as well as buttons for 'other words',
'undo last entry', and 'finish'.
A counter on the top of the screen counts the number of selected items out of the total number of items in the shopping list (e.g. 4/12).
The screen should face away from test taker. Test administrator selects with the mouse the recalled items.
If the wrong item is selected, the selection can be undone by clicking 'undo last entry'.
Once test taker stops recalling items, test administrator selects 'finish'.

3. An optional delayed recall run (depends on setting of editable value parameters.runDelayedCondition)

Stimuli

120 shopping list items are listed under Editable Code->Editable Stimuli-> item.allWords
The shopping list items are highly culturally dependent and should be relevant/meaningful for the
current test taker.

The provided items are only suggestions by Millisecond and should be carefully
evaluated and edited.
The provided items are untested.

Instructions

Instructions are provided by Millisecond. They can easily be changed under
Editable Code->Editable Instructions

Summary Data

File Name: internationalshoppingListtask_summary*.iqdat

Data Fields

NameDescription
inquisit.version Inquisit version number
computer.platform Device platform: win | mac |ios | android
startDate Date the session was run
startTime Time the session was run
subjectId Participant ID
groupId Group number
sessionId Session number
elapsedTime Session duration in ms
completed 0 = Test was not completed
1 = Test was completed
numberOfItems The number of items selected for the shopping list (default: 12)
completedRounds Counts the number of times the task has been completed
maxFreeRecall Determines the Max possible free Recall sum for set nr items (per round)
freeRecallRound1 Counts all correctly recalled words from Round1
freeRecallRound2 Counts all correctly recalled words from Round2
freeRecallRound3 Counts all correctly recalled words from Round3
maxTotalFreeRecall Determines the Max possible total free Recall sum for the set nr items (across first 3 rounds; not including delayed)
totalFreeRecall Determines the actual free Recall sum for the set nr items (across first 3 rounds; not including delayed)
freeRecallDelayed Counts all correctly recalled words from delayed run
maxWeightedFreeRecall Determines the Max possible weighted free Recall sum for set nr items (per round)
weightedRecallRound1 Weighted sum of Recall scores from Round1 (weighted by: nr items - item position in shopping list + 1 => first item gets the most weight for recall)
weightedRecallRound2 Weighted sum of Recall scores from Round2
weightedRecallRound3 Weighted sum of Recall scores from Round3
weightedRecallDelayed Weighted sum of Recall scores from delayed run
nrPrimacyRecency Determines the number of shopping list items counted towards Primacy and Receny recall.
The number is either a third of the number of the shoppingList items (rounded) or 4
whichever one is smaller.
Example: number of items in shopping list = 10; 103 ~ 3 => Primacy and Recency Recall counts
the first three items ( Primacy) and the last three items (Recency)
maxPrimacyRecency Determines the Max possible PrimacyRecency values for the set nr items (across first 3 rounds)
primacy Sums up the number of Primacy list words recalled for the first three rounds (excluding delayed round)
number of items counting to towards Primacy is predetermined by nr_PrimacyRecency
recency Sums up the number of Recency list words recalled for the first three rounds (excluding delayed round)
The number is either a third of the number of shoppingList items (rounded) or 4
whichever one is smaller.
Example: number of items in shopping list = 10; 103 ~ 3 => Primacy and Recency Recall counts
the first three items ( Primacy) and the last three items (Recency)
intrusion Sums up the number of non-list words recalled across the first three rounds (excluding Delayed Round)
repetition Sums up the number of repeated list words across the first three rounds (excluding Delayed Round)
shoppingList Stores the selected items from item.allWords that are selected for the actual shoppingList
recalledList1-
recalledListDelayed Stores the items recalled in sequence separately for each round

Raw Data

File Name: internationalshoppingListtask_raw*.iqdat

Data Fields

NameDescription
build Inquisit version number
computer.platform Device platform: win | mac |ios | android
date Date the session was run
time Time the session was run
subject Participant ID
group Group number
session Session number
blockCode Name of the current block
blockNum Number of the current block
startedRounds Counts the number of times the task has been started
numberOfItems Sets the number of items selected for the shopping list (default: 12)
trialCode Name of the current trial
trialNum Number of the current trial
stimulusItem The presented stimuli in order of trial presentation
recalledWord The recalled word
response The participant's response
latency The response latency (in ms)
wordCount Number of words recalled (correct and incorrect); resets after each round
countWord1-
countWord16 Counts how often each word of the shopping list was recalled
(numbering refers to position of item in the shopping list; e.g. word1 was the first item presented to participant)
resets after each round
countOtherWords Counts how often non-list words are recalled for the current round (resets after each round)
repeating the same non-list word is counted as separate instances
recalledList Stores the items recalled in sequence (resets after each round)
shoppingList Stores the selected items from item.allWords that are selected for the actual shoppingList

Parameters

The procedure can be adjusted by setting the following parameters.

NameDescriptionDefault
numberOfItems Sets the number of items selected for the shopping list 12
wordPresentationTimeMS Sets the word presentation time in ms (default: 2000 => 2s per words
runDelayedCondition True = runs a delayed recall condition after the 3 immediate recall conditions (default)
false = does not run the delayed recall condition after the 3 immediated recall conditions
fontSizeTargetPct Sets the height of the font of the words presented on screen in screen height percentages 8%