Visual Analog Rating Scale - VAS

Technical Manual

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

Created: June 04, 2024

Last Modified: December 03, 2025 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC

Background

This script implements Millisecond's version of a custom Visual Analog Rating Scale to assess mental fatigue. The procedure is run as part of the Cognitive Demand Battery (CDB) (Kennedy et al, 2008).

References

Kennedy, D. O., Haskell, C. F., Robertson, B., Reay, J., Brewster-Maund, C., Luedemann, J., Maggini, S., Ruf, M., Zangara, A., & Scholey, A. B. (2008). Improved cognitive performance and mental fatigue following a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement with added guaraná ( Paullinia cupana). Appetite, 50(2), 506–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2007.10.007

Duration

1 minute

Description

Participants are asked to rate how mentally fatigued they feel on a 100mm long line with the anchors "not at all" (left) and "very much so" (right). Ratings were scored as 0-100 based on their relative position on the line.

Procedure

Participants are asked to rate how mentally fatigued they feel on a 100mm long line with the anchors
"not at all" (left) and "very much so" (right).
After placing their initial marker on the line, they can correct its position by either
a) clicking on the line or b) dragging the marker along the line before submitting their rating
via a 'submit' button.

Stimuli

provided by Millisecond

Instructions

provided by Millisecond - can be edited under section 'Editable Instructions'

Summary Data

File Name: cdb_vas_summary*.iqdat

Data Fields

NameDescription
inquisit.version Inquisit version number
computer.platform Device platform: win | mac |ios | android
computer.touch 0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities
computer.hasKeyboard 0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected
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
rating The final rating (continuous on scale from 0-100)
ratingRT The final sum of all rating latencies

Raw Data

File Name: cdb_vas_raw*.iqdat

Data Fields

NameDescription
build Inquisit version number
computer.platform Device platform: win | mac |ios | android
computer.touch 0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities
computer.hasKeyboard 0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected
date Date the session was run
time Time the session was run
subject Participant ID
group Group number
session Session number
blockcode The name the current block (built-in Inquisit variable)
blocknum The number of the current block (built-in Inquisit variable)
trialcode The name of the currently recorded trial (built-in Inquisit variable)
trialnum The number of the currently recorded trial (built-in Inquisit variable)
trialnum is a built-in Inquisit variable; it counts all trials run
even those that do not store data to the data file.
rating The current rating number (continuous scale 0-100)
ratingRT Current sum of all rating latencies
response The response stimulus
latency Response latency (in ms); measured from: trial onset
Debugging Variables
shape.marker.xPx The canvas horizontal pixel position of the marker
sliderStartXPX The canvas horizontal pixel position of the start point of the slider line
sliderEndXPX The canvas horizontal pixel position of the end point of the slider line