Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Created: January 01, 2012
Last Modified: January 19, 2023 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC
This script implements a computerized version of the WISC Symbol Search Task, as measure of processing speed, developed by Amy Finn (Ph.D), John Gabrieli (Ph.D.) and Julia Leonard.
3 minutes
Participants are presented with 10 rows of symbols. In each row, there are 2 symbols on a gray background (on the left) and 5 symbols on a light blue background (on the right). Participants are instructed to look for a match amongst the 5 symbols on the right for either one of the two symbols on the left. If they find a match, they are instructed to click it. If no match is found, participants are instructed to click a NO button next to the row. A circle appears to mark the choice. They have 2 minutes to work through as many rows as they can.
(A) Practice:
Participants are provided three example rows that have the correct matches circled. Three more
practice rows are provided for the participants to do the symbol matching themselves.
If a mistake is made, participants are asked to correct their choice. A red circle will
mark their incorrect choice and a text message appears next to the row that says "Please, correct".
Only when participants have completed all three practice rows successfully, a START button will
appear. Once participants click the START button the timed portion of the task begins.
(B) Timed Test:
Participants have 2 minutes to complete as many rows as they can. No feedback is provided during
timed testing. Once participants select an answer choice and click on it, the answer choice is circled.
Participants cannot skip rows and a selection made cannot be corrected.
Each screen contains 10 rows. A new screen is presented once participants finish
with the 10th row.
Note On Canvassize:
In order to provide roughly the same size set-up on different monitors, a specific pixel resolution can be
set under DEFAULTS (example: 1024px,768px).
!!!However, there is no absolute relationship between a pixel and any "real",
physical measurement unit (mm, cm, inches, etc.). It's different on each monitor.
If the same size is REQUIRED, you can use script MonitorCalibration.iqjs to calibrate your monitor.
Transfer the data stored for values.canvassize (in MonitorCalibration.iqjs) into
/canvassize = under the DEFAULTS section in this script.
provided by Millisecond - can be edited under section Editable Stimuli
All instruction stimuli are presented under section Editable INSTRUCTIONS. Instructions are either
pages, text stimuli, or instruction images. If instructions need to be changed on images,
new images need to be created (e.g. in PowerPoint) and saved under the current file names.
File Name: symbolsearch_summary*.iqdat
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| timeLimit | Duration (in ms) for the timed portion of the test (default: 120000ms ->2min) |
| sumCorrect | Sums up all correct responses |
File Name: symbolsearch_raw.iqdat
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| trialCode | Name of the current trial |
| trialNum | Number of the current trial |
| pageCount | Stores the current page |
| nextrow | Stores the rownumber of the currently active row |
| response | The participant's response (selected response box 1-6, 6 = no) |
| selectedResp | The number of the selected responsesbox: 0=no, 1-5 ( this column contains data that can directly be compared to correctBox) |
| correctBox | Stores the number of the currently active correct responsebox (1-5, 0 = no box) |
| correct | The correctness of the response (1 = correct; 0 = incorrect) |
| latency | The response latency (in ms); from onset of current trial |
| sumCorrect | Sums up all correct responses |
The procedure can be adjusted by setting the following parameters.
| Name | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| timeLimit | Duration (in ms) for the timed portion of the test | 120000ms ->2min |