Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Created: January 26, 2018
Last Modified: January 12, 2025 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC
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 is designed for touchscreen/mouse input (check out heartsandflowerstask_keyboard.iqjs for the same task designed for keyboard input)
7 minutes
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 or right response button (=congruent trials). For example, if the heart is left to the fixation cross, participants are asked to press the left button. 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 button 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)
• 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
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.
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)
provided by Millisecond - can be edited under section Editable Stimuli
provided by Millisecond (not original to Diamond et al, 2007)- can be edited under
section Editable Instructions
File Name: heartsandflowerstask_mi_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 |
Practice Performance |
|
| countCongruent | Counts the number of congruent practice blocks run |
| practiceAccCongruent | 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 |
| practiceAccIncongruent | 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 |
| practiceAccMixed | 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 |
| propCorrectCongruent | Proportion correct across congruent-only test trials |
| meanRTCongruent | Mean latency of correct responses across congruent-only test trials |
| propCorrectIncongruent | Proportion correct across incongruent-only test trials |
| meanRTIncongruent | Mean latency of correct responses across incongruent-only test trials |
| propCorrectMixed | Proportion correct across test trials in mixed block |
| meanRTMixed | Mean latency of correct responses across test trials in mixed block |
| propCorrectMixedSwitch | Proportion correct across switch trials in mixed block |
| meanRTMixedSwitch | Mean latency of correct responses across switch test trials in mixed block switch trial: switch from congruent to incongruent trial and vice versa |
| propCorrectMixedNonSwitch | Proportion correct across nonswitch trials in mixed block |
| meanRTMixedNonSwitch | Mean latency of correct responses across nonswitch test trials in mixed block |
| propCorrectMixedCongruent | Proportion correct across congruent test trials in mixed block |
| meanRTMixedCongruent | Mean latency of correct responses across congruent test trials in mixed block |
| propCorrectMixedIncongruent | Proportion correct across incongruent test trials in mixed block |
| meanRTMixedIncongruent | 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] |
File Name: heartsandflowerstask_mi_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 |
| 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 leftResponseButton rightResponseButton |
| correct | Accuracy of response 1 = correct response 0 = otherwise |
| latency | The response latency (in ms); measured from: onset of stim |
| list.accPractice.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 |
The procedure can be adjusted by setting the following parameters.
| Name | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| congruentStim | Stores the label used for the congruent stim | "heart" |
| incongruentStim | Stores the label used for the incongruent stim if the stimuli are changed, picture.congruentStim and picture.incongruentStim need to be updated accordingly | "flower" |
| 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 | 3 |
| numberPracticeTrials | The number of practice trials per practice block | 8 |
| numberTestTrials | The number of test trials per test block the number of trials should be divisible by 4 | 20 |
| stimDurationSimpleBlock | The duration (in ms) of the stimulus presentation (= response timeout) for a 'simple' (= one stimulus) block | 5000 |
| stimDurationMixedBlock | The duration (in ms) of the stimulus presentation (= response timeout) for the mixed block | 6000 |
| iti | The intertrial interval (in ms) | 1000 |
| picSize | The proportional sizing (proportional to canvas height) of the pictures | 10% |
| fixationSize | The proportional sizing (proportional to canvas height) of the fixation cross | 15% |
| leftX | The left x-coordinate in canvas percentage | 30% |
| rightX | The right x-coordinate in canvas percentage left edge of canvas = 0%, right edge of canvas = 100% (canvas = portion of the screen dedicated for the script) | 70% |