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*Hearts and Flowers Task - a child friendly Simon's Task*
(primarily keyboard version but adapts to touchscreen devices)
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Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com) for Millisecond Software, LLC
Date: 03-26-2018
last updated: 12-14-2023 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com) for Millisecond Software, LLC
Script Copyright © 12-14-2023 Millisecond Software
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BACKGROUND INFO
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This script implements the Hearts and Flowers Task (a child friendly Simon's Task), a test of Executive Control.
The task is described in:
Diamond,A., Barnett, W.S., Thomas,J. & Munro, S. (2007). Preschool Program Improves
Cognitive Control. SCIENCE, 318, 1387-1388
(as well as supporting documents)
The Hearts and Flowers Task is based on the Dot-Task:
M.C. Davidson, D. Amso, L.C. Anderson, A. Diamond (2006). Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years:
Evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching. Neuropsychologia 44, 2037–2078
This script runs with keyboard input but adapts to touchscreen-only devices by providing response buttons
as well as adapting visual/text instructions to the different platforms automatically.
(for a task specifically designed for touchscreen/mouse input: check out heartsandflowerstask_mi.iqx)
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TASK DESCRIPTION
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Participants are presented trials with either a heart or a flower that appear to the left or right of
a fixation cross. If participants see a heart, they are asked to press the corresponding left ('A') or right ('L')
response button (=congruent trials).
For example, if the heart is left to the fixation cross, participants are asked to press the left ("A") key.
If participants see a flower, they are asked to press the opposite response button (=incongruent trials).
For example, if the flower is left to the fixation cross, participants are asked to press the right ("L") key.
3 main blocks to test the three core abilities of Executive Control (Diamond et al, 2007)*:
1) only congruent trials: participants work through a block of heart trials (Working Memory)
2) only incongruent trials: participants work through a block of flower trials
(Working Memory + Inhibitory Control)
3) mixed trials: participants work through a random mix of heart and flower trials
(Working Memory + Inhibitory Control + Cognitive Flexibility)
*Note:
The following are the three core abilities of Executive Control (Diamond et al, 2007)
1. Working Memory: Remember the rules and execute them accordingly
2. Inhibitory Control: Ability to override behavioral impulses
3. Cognitive Flexibility: Adapt behavior to changing demands
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DURATION
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the default set-up of the script takes appr. 7 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: 'heartsandflowerstask_keyboard_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 (win/mac/ios/android)
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.
condition: 1 = congruent-only;
2 = incongruent-only;
3 = mixed
position: 1 = stimulus is positioned on the left;
2 = stimulus is positioned on the right
congruence: 1 = congruent trial;
2 = incongruent trial
prevCongruence: the congruence of the previous trial (important for mixed condition only)
switch: 1 = switch trial (trial type changed from congruent to incongruent or vice versa);
2 = nonswitch trial (trial type stayed the same)
countSwitch: counts the number of switch trials per block
stimulusitem.1: the presented stimuli in order of trial presentation
response: the participant's response (scancode of responsebutton)
30 = A = left
38 = L = right
(57 = spacebar)
correct: accuracy of response:
1 = correct response;
0 = otherwise
latency: the response latency (in ms); measured from: onset of stim
list.ACC_practice.mean: the proportion correct during the current practice block
countCongruent: counts the number of congruent practice blocks run
countIncongruent: counts the number of incongruent practice blocks run
countMixed: counts the number of mixed practice blocks run
(2) Summary data file: 'heartsandflowerstask_keyboard_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)
///Practice Performance:
countCongruent: counts the number of congruent practice blocks run
practiceACC_congruent: the highest proportion correct in one of the congruent practice blocks (if not run, propCorrect = 0)
passCongruent: 1 = participant successfully passed the congruent practice;
0 = otherwise
countIncongruent: counts the number of incongruent practice blocks run
practiceACC_incongruent: the highest proportion correct in one of the incongruent practice blocks (if not run, propCorrect = 0)
passInCongruent: 1 = participant successfully passed the incongruent practice;
0 = otherwise
countMixed: counts the number of mixed practice blocks run
practiceACC_mixed: the highest proportion correct in one of the mixed practice blocks (if not run, propCorrect = 0)
passMixed: 1 = participant successfully passed the mixed practice;
0 = otherwise
///Test Performance:
propCorrect: proportion correct across all test trials
meanRT: mean latency of correct responses across all test trials
propCorrect_congruent: proportion correct across congruent-only test trials
meanRT_congruent: mean latency of correct responses across congruent-only test trials
propCorrect_incongruent: proportion correct across incongruent-only test trials
meanRT_incongruent: mean latency of correct responses across incongruent-only test trials
propCorrect_mixed: proportion correct across test trials in mixed block
meanRT_mixed: mean latency of correct responses across test trials in mixed block
propCorrect_mixed_switch: proportion correct across switch trials in mixed block
meanRT_mixed_switch: mean latency of correct responses across switch test trials in mixed block
switch trial: switch from congruent to incongruent trial and vice versa
propCorrect_mixed_nonswitch: proportion correct across nonswitch trials in mixed block
meanRT_mixed_nonswitch: mean latency of correct responses across nonswitch test trials in mixed block
propCorrect_mixed_congruent: proportion correct across congruent test trials in mixed block
meanRT_mixed_congruent: mean latency of correct responses across congruent test trials in mixed block
propCorrect_mixed_incongruent: proportion correct across incongruent test trials in mixed block
meanRT_mixed_incongruent: mean latency of correct responses across incongruent test trials in mixed block
SimonEffect : ms difference in "[mean corrRT mixed Incongruent] - [mean corrRT mixed Congruent]"
positive value: participants responded faster when
stimulus location and response button location were congruent
("stimulus-response compatibility") => Simon Effect
[negative value: participants responded faster when
stimulus location and response button location
were incongruent]
* 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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3 main conditions: run in sequence
1. Congruent-Only: 20 'heart' trials (10 hearts appear left, 10 hearts appear right):
press matching response button
2. Incongruent-Only: 20 'flower' trials (10 flowers appear left, 10 flowers appear right):
press opposite response button
3. Mixed*: 10 'heart' trials (5 hearts left, 5 hearts right), 10 'flowers' trials
(5 flowers left, 5 flowers right)
=> random order with constraint that max. 3 of the same trials can be run consecutively
=> number of switch trials will vary (minimum number of switch trials = 6 for 20 trials)
switch trial: switch from congruent to incongruent trial and vice versa
* Diamond et al (2007) do not specify how the mixed condition is set up in detail other than that
the trials were randomly intermixed. In this script, a constraint was placed on the random selection to
ensure that a minimum of switch trials would run for each participant.
Each condition runs:
A. Practice Block(s): a maximum of 3 (default, can be set under section Editable Parameters) practice blocks of
8 trials. If participants reach a performance of 75% correct (default, can be set under
section Editable Parameters) during any of the blocks, the test block is started - otherwise the script is aborted
after 3 unsuccessful practice blocks.
During practice, participants receive positive feedback for 500ms in the form of a 'smiley' and auditory feedback
if they press the correct response button. For incorrect responses as well as noresponses, participants will
get a visual and auditory reminder of the rules and have to retry the trial (at this point, only correct responses
are accepted to move to the next trial).
B. Test Block:
Each Test Block runs 20 trials.
Note: number of trials per block can be set under section Editable Parameters
Trial Sequence:
stimulus (heart or flower)-> max. 5000ms(congruent-only and incongruent-only)/6000ms (mixed) -> iti: 1000ms
(timings can easily be changed under section Editable Parameters)
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STIMULI
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provided by Millisecond Software - can be edited under section Editable Stimuli
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INSTRUCTIONS
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provided by Millisecond Software (not original to Diamond et al, 2007)- can be edited under
section Editable Instructions
Note: different visual stimuli are provided for devices with keyboards vs. devices without keyboards
The instruction stimuli for devices with detected external keyboards are located in helper script:
hearsandflowers_instructions_keyboard.iqx
The instruction stimuli for devices without detected external keyboards are located in helper script:
hearsandflowers_instructions_touchscreen.iqx
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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:
/congruentStim: stores the label used for the congruent stim (default: "heart")
/incongruentStim: stores the label used for the incongruent stim (default: "flower")
Note: if the stimuli are changed, picture.congruentStim and picture.incongruentStim need
to be updated accordingly
/minPracticeACC: the minimum practice performance (proportion correct) to let participants move from a
practice block to a test block (default: 0.75)
/maxPracticeRepeats: number of times a practice blocks can be repeated before the script is aborted (default: 3)
/numberPracticeTrials: the number of practice trials per practice block (default: 8)
/numberTestTrials: the number of test trials per test block (default: 20)
Note: the number of trials should be divisible by 4
/stimDuration_simpleBlock: the duration (in ms) of the stimulus presentation (= response timeout) for a 'simple' (= one stimulus) block (default: 5000)
/stimDuration_mixedBlock: the duration (in ms) of the stimulus presentation (= response timeout) for the mixed block (default: 6000)
/iti: the intertrial interval (in ms) (default: 1000)
/picSize: the proportional sizing (proportional to canvas height) of the pictures (default: 10%)
/fixationSize: the proportional sizing (proportional to canvas height) of the fixation cross (default: 15%)
/left_x: the left x-coordinate in canvas percentage (default: 30%)
/right_x: the right x-coordinate in canvas percentage (default: 70%)
Note: left edge of canvas = 0%, right edge of canvas = 100%
(canvas = portion of the screen dedicated for the script)
Responsekeys:
/leftkey: the left response button (default: "A")
/rightkey: the right response button (default: "L")
