Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Created: January 03, 2026
Last Modified: January 06, 2026 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC
This script implements the Short Story Task with Multiple Choice Questions (SST-MCQ) by Goodhew & Edwards (2026). The SST-MCQ is a measure of individual differences in 'theory of mind ability' for adult participants. The task is based on the original open-ended question SST by Dodell-Feder et al (2013) but improves scoring and test administration for large-sample studies.
Goodhew, S. C., & Edwards, M. (2026). Measuring Theory of Mind: A Multiple-Choice Response Format Version of the Short Story Task. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-026-07236-0
Dodell-Feder, D., Lincoln, S. H., Coulson, J. P., & Hooker, C. I. (2013). Using Fiction to Assess Mental State Understanding: A New Task for Assessing Theory of Mind in Adults. PloS One, 8(11), e81279. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0081279
20 minutes
Participants are asked to read a short story ("The End of Something" by E. Hemingway) and answer several multiple-choice questions about the story and its two main characters. The first three questions are simple comprehension check questions to ensure that participants read the story. The remaining questions assess an individual's ability to infer the story characters’ mental states that are left implicit by the story teller. All participants get 10 core questions, however, depending on their answers they may get up to 10 additional questions.
(1) Story Presentation/Reading (Story: 'The End of Something' by E. Hemingway; but title and author are not mentioned)
-> Participants need to explicitly agree that they have 'read the story fully' in order to continue
(2) Prior Story Knowledge Screening:
- Yes/No Question asking participants if they have studied this story before
(3) Comprehension Question Check:
3 simple multiple choice questions to ensure participants have read the story
- questions are presented one at a time (no back-navigation)
- no feedback provided
(4) ToM Assessment of the implicit mental states of the story's characters:
- 10-20 questions, depending on response pattern
- questions are presented one at a time (no back-navigation)
- no feedback provided
• Short Story:
'The End of Something' by E. Hemingway -> in the public domain
• SST-MCQ questions provided by Goodhew & Edwards (2026)
provided by Goodhew & Edwards (2026)
File Name: shortstorytask_mcq_summary*.iqdat
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| screeningPass | 1 = screening was passed (has no prior knowledge of the story); 0 = screening was failed |
| comprehensionScore | Max 3 (and fewer points and it's questionable whether participant has read the story) |
| sstMcqScore | Up to 21; the higher the score the better the implicit mental states were inferred -> higher ToM Abilities |
File Name: shortstorytask_mcq_raw*.iqdat
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| phase | "story", "screening", "comprehension", "toM assessment" |
| maxPoints | The maximum number of points that can be earned for the current 'assessment' question (Range: 0-2) |
| response | The response made (1=A,2=B,3=C,4=D) |
| corrResp | The correct response for the current question |
| acc | 1 = correct response; 0 = error; "" -> not assessed |
| latency | The response latency in ms |
| screeningPass | 1 = screening was passed (has no prior knowledge of the story); 0 = screening was failed |
| comprehensionScore | Max 3 (fewer points and it's questionable whether participant has read the story) |
| sstMcqScore | Up to 21; the higher the score the better the implicit mental states were inferred -> higher ToM Abilities |
The procedure can be adjusted by setting the following parameters.
| Name | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
Timing Parameters |
||
| continueDelayMS | The delay (in ms) of the Yes/No buttons on the story page that allow participants to move on | 200 |