Measure selective attention and interference control. Respond to the center arrow while flankers try to mislead you.
This test measures how well you can focus on the relevant information while ignoring distracting signals. You will see five arrows. Your task is to respond to the direction of the center arrow only.
Controls: Left = ArrowLeft or 1, Right = ArrowRight or 2. Click the blue area (or press Space/Enter) to start.
Final Score = correct points × speed factor (lower mean RT increases the factor).
The Eriksen Flanker task is a classic cognitive psychology paradigm used to study selective attention and interference control. You respond to a target in the center while distracting flankers compete for attention. Incongruent flankers (e.g., <<><<) typically slow reaction times and increase mistakes.
Your performance reflects how efficiently you filter distractions and resolve conflicting information. The two biggest signals are: accuracy (how often you choose the correct direction) and speed (how quickly you respond on correct trials).
To keep the score intuitive, we combine correct responses with a speed factor based on your mean reaction time. Faster mean RT increases the multiplier (within a capped range), so high accuracy with reasonable speed tends to produce the best score.
Your attention is pulled by the flankers. When they point opposite to the center arrow, your brain has to suppress the distracting direction and resolve conflict before acting.
No. This is a simple cognitive task for self-tracking and comparison. It does not diagnose conditions and should not be treated as medical advice.
Sleep, stress, caffeine timing, and attention strongly affect reaction time and errors. Look at several sessions to estimate your baseline.
It can slightly. Displays and input devices introduce latency. That’s why comparisons are most fair on the same device and browser.
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