Child Fish Flanker Task

Background

The Fish Flanker Task is the child-friendly analog of the Arrow Flanker Task and is used with children between the ages of three to seven. The Arrow Flanker Task, an intuitive version of the original Eriksen Flanker Task, is a widely-used test of cognitive control and interference resolution.

In the Arrow Flanker Task participants have to respond to a middle arrow that either points to the left or to the right and is flanked on either side by 2 additional arrows that either point in the same direction as the target ('congruent' arrows) or in the opposite direction ('incongruent' arrows). The direction that the response-irrelevant flankers point to reliably interferes with target responses.

In the Fish Flanker Task instead of left and right pointing arrows, participants are asked to feed a 'middle' fish by pressing a left or right response button, depending on where the fish is looking. The Fish Flanker Paradigm was first introduced by M. Rosario Rueda and colleagues in 2004. The NIH ToolBox version, e.g., tests children ages 3-7 first with the Fish Flanker Test and continues testing high performers on the more abstract arrow flanker version.

The Millisecond implementation of the Fish Flanker test is based on the published procedure by Shawn Christ and colleagues in 2011. The task was originally designed for keyboard devices but automatically adjusts to touchscreen instructions if the script does not detect any external keyboard.

Task Procedure

Participants first learn about the fish feeding game. The instructions are presented on screen and need to be read to the participants. A first block of 12 practice trials is run with a single fish that points either to the left or the right. After this first practice block, participants learn about the fish's friends. They are told that the friends will appear with the middle fish and may look in the same direction or in the opposite one. However, they should only concentrate and feed the middle fish. A second block of 12 practice trials is then run with all five fish. The test starts after the 2nd practice block and runs a total of 60 trials with two included breaks. For each trial participants get 3000ms to respond. They are asked to press the left 'A' button if the fish is looking to the left or to press the right 'L' button if the fish is looking to the right.

Practice and test trials provide visual and verbal performance feedback after each response.

What it Measures

The Fish Flanker Task is a measure of cognitive control and interference resolution designed for children ages 3-7

Psychological domains

• Executive Control: Ability to resolve conflict among competing stimuli, involving response inhibition and decision-making
• Inhibitory Control / Response Inhibition: Ability to override automatic/dominant responses that interfere with one's goals
• Selective Attention: Ability to select information from sensory input by directing attention to a specific location in space

Main Performance Metrics

• Accuracy Measures: Proportion correct responses in the varying noise conditions as a measure of conflict resolution success
• Latency Measures: Mean correct response times in the varying noise conditions as a measure of conflict resolution speed

Psychiatric Conditions

Fish Flanker performance tends to be impaired in patients with the following conditions.

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Test Variations

References

Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Child Fish Flanker Task.

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Christ, S.E., Kester, L.E., Bodner, K.E. & Miles, J.H. (2011). Evidence for Selective Inhibitory Impairment in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Neuropsychology, 25, 690–701.