Connections Task

Executive Function Duration: ~10 minutes
Connections Task screenshot

System Requirements

🖥️
Screen Size:
Minimum: 800×600
Recommended: 1024×768
🖱️
Mouse required

Description

A variant of the Trail Making Test requiring participants to connect circles in sequence using numbers (1-2-3-4), letters (A-B-C-D), or alternating patterns (1-A-2-B or A-1-B-2). Tests cognitive flexibility, task switching, and visual search speed.

Test Details

Test ID:
connections
Main File:
connections.pbl
Parameters:
5 configurable parameters
Languages:
English Spanish

🚀 Try Without Registration

Run this test immediately without creating an account. Data stays in your browser.

Scientific Background

Original Task References:

These references describe the original task that this PEBL implementation is based on.

  • Salthouse, T. A., Toth, J., Daniels, K., Parks, C., Pak, R., Wolbrette, M., et al. (2000). Effects of aging on the efficiency of task switching in a variant of the Trail Making Test. Neuropsychology, 14, 102-111.
  • Oswald, W. D., & Roth, E. (1978). Der Zahlen-Verbindungs Test (ZVT). Gottingen, Germany: Hogrefe.

Data Output

Creates three data files: (1) connections-<subnum>.csv with trial-level data including subnum, trial type, trial number, grid dimensions, path length, sum of distances, angle sum, sum of options, entropy, number of clicks, last click identifier, reaction time, completion time, and detailed sequence of clicks; (2) connections-path-practice-<subnum>.csv with click-by-click path data from practice trials; (3) Text summary with performance metrics.

About This Test

A variant of the Trail Making Test requiring participants to connect circles in sequence using numbers (1-2-3-4), letters (A-B-C-D), or alternating patterns (1-A-2-B or A-1-B-2). Tests cognitive flexibility, task switching, and visual search speed.

Category: Executive Function
Estimated Duration: 10 minutes
Available Translations: 2 languages

Documentation Sources:
Test implementation, Parameter schema

Documentation Status: Standard