Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Created: January 16, 2014
Last Modified: January 08, 2023 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC
This script implements a Mathematical Processing Task with 3 levels of difficulty similar to the one described by:
UNIFIED TRI-SERVICE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT BATTERY (UTC-PAB) I. DESIGN AND SPECIFICATION OF THE BATTERY. ENGLUND, C.E., REEVES. D.L., SHINGLEDECKER, C.A., THORNE, D.R., WILSON, K.P., & HEGGE. F.W. (1987). REPORT NO. 87-10, NAVAL HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER, P 0 BOX 85122, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA 92138 NAVAL MEDICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COMMAND, BETHESDA, MARYLAND (p.18)
7 minutes
Participants are asked to categorize the solutions to simple arithmetic problems (e.g. 8 - 3 = ). They are asked to press one button (here: <) when the solution is smaller than 5 and another button when the solution is greater than 5 (here: >). Participants are asked to solve the problems from left to right and respond as quickly and accurately as they can. There are 3 conditions of arithmetic problems that differ in their cognitive demand: A) low demand: one operator B) moderate demand: two operators C) high demand: three operators
3 cognitive demand conditions: low, moderate, high.
Assignment is done via groupnumber in this script.
Each condition runs for (default) 3 min (editable value).
A) Low cognitive demand: one operator (+, -); presentation time controlled by editable value
(see section Editable Values) - default: 1500ms
B) Moderate cognitive demand: two operators (+-, -+, --); presentation time controlled by editable value
(see section Editable Values) - default: 3000ms
C) High cognitive demand: three operators (+--, -+-,++-); presentation time controlled by editable value
(see section Editable Values) - default: 4000ms
Training:
By default, participants run through one block of training (3 min) for each demand condition in this script.
Number of training sessions can be set under Editable Values.
Englund et al (1987) suggest the following:
• Low Demand--7 three-minute blocks;
• Moderate Demand--lO to 14 three-minute blocks
• High Demand--10 to 30 three-minute blocks.
Training trials are 15s (default) long and provide feedback (red X) if the response is incorrect.
All problems are randomly generated right before presentation.
Several constraints are placed on problem generation (Englund et al, 1987: A-F)
A) only digits 1-9
B) 0 < solution < 10
C) solution cannot be 5
D) roughly half the solutions < 5 (because the task is time-limited and not trial limited
there may be a slight frequency imbalance. The script is set up in such a way,
that after every 10 trials, the frequencies should equal)
E) digits can only repeat if they are preceded by the same operator (e.g. 8 - 2 - 2 = )
F) when problems are solved from left to right: intermediate and cumulative solutions must be greater than 0
G) no repeats of immediately preceding problems
Instructions are not original to the task. They are provided by Millisecond
as htm/html pages and simple page elements and can be edited either by changing
the provided htm/html files or directly under Editable Instructions.
To edit htm/html-files: open the respective documents in simple Text Editors such as TextEdit (Mac)
or Notepad (Windows).
File Name: mathematicalprocessingtask_raw_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 |
| demand | 1 = runs low demand task 2 = runs moderate demand task 3 = runs high demand task nr_lowdemandtrainingblocks - |
| nrHighDemandTrainingBlocks | Sets the number of training blocks for each demand condition Typical training times for the tasks are as follows (recommended by: Englund et al, 1987) Low Demand--7 three-minute blocks Moderate Demand--lO to 14 three-minute blocks High Demand--10 to 30 three-minute blocks. |
| countLow | Counts all low demand trials |
| propCorrectLow | Proportion correct low demand trials |
| propSpeedErrorLow | Proportion speed errors ('response failure') in low demand trials |
| propAccErrorLow | Proportion accuracy errors ('incorrect') in low demand trials |
| meanrtLow | Mean correct latency (in ms) in low demand trials |
| sdLow | Standard deviation of correct latencies in low demand trials (same for moderate and high demand trials) |
File Name: mathematicalprocessingtask_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 |
| demand | 1 = runs low demand task 2 = runs moderate demand task 3 = runs high demand task |
| problem | Contains the currently presented math problem |
| solution | Contains the solution to the currently presented math problem |
| resultCategory | 1 = solution < 5 2 = solution > 5 |
| response | The participant's response (scancode of response key) 31 = S 34 = G 0 = no response |
| responseCategory | "smaller"; "greater"; "response failure" |
| correct | The correctness of the response (1 = correct; 0 = incorrect) |
| latency | The response latency (in ms) |
The procedure can be adjusted by setting the following parameters.
| Name | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| responseKeyLower | The response key for problems < 5 ; left response key | "S" |
| responseKeyUpper | The response key for problems > 5 ; right response key the response key for 'problems < 5' will be presented as the left response key on touchscreen devices; thus it is recommended to use a key for 'problems < 5' that appears to the left of the response key for 'problems > 5' on the keyboard as well. | "G" |
| fontSizeProblem | Fontsize of the targets in screen height percentages | 10% |
| blockDuration | The maximum task duration in ms | 180000 |
| trainingTrialDuration | The maximum time allotted for demand trials of any kind during training blocks | |
| lowDemandDuration | The maximum time allotted for low demand trials in ms | 1500 |
| moderateDemandDuration | The maximum time allotted for moderate demand trials in ms | 3000 |
| highDemandDuration | The maximum time allotted for high demand trials in ms | 4000 |
| nrLowDemandTrainingBlocks: - | ||
| nrHighDemandTrainingBlocks | Sets the number of training blocks for each demand condition Typical training times for the tasks are as follows (recommended by: Englund et al, 1987) Low Demand--7 three-minute blocks Moderate Demand--lO to 14 three-minute blocks High Demand--10 to 30 three-minute blocks. | 1 |