Connections Task
System Requirements
Minimum: 800×600
Recommended: 1024×768
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
connectionsconnections.pbl🚀 Try Without Registration
Run this test immediately without creating an account. Data stays in your browser.
Researcher Access Benefits
To save configurations, upload data, use translations, track completion, and manage studies, please log in or register for an account.
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
connections-{subnum}.csv
Scoring and Interpretation
Efficiency: Compare numclicks to length - perfect performance has numclicks = length.
Path quality: Lower sumdist indicates more efficient spatial path.
Example Data
example-data.csv Primary
Trial-level summary data with path metrics and complete click sequences
| subnum | type | trial | width | height | length | sumdist | anglesum | sumoptions | entropy | numclicks | lastclick | rt | time | s001 | s002 | s003 | s004 | s005 | s006 | s007 | s008 | s009 | s010 | s011 | s012 | s013 | s014 | s015 | s016 | s017 | s018 | s019 | s020 | s021 | s022 | s023 | s024 | s025 | s026 | s027 | s028 | s029 | s030 | s031 | s032 | s033 | s034 | s035 | s036 | s037 | s038 | s039 | s040 | s041 | s042 | s043 | s044 | s045 | s046 | s047 | s048 | s049 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| oetuh | numletter | 1 | 7 | 7 | 27 | 28.8995 | 31 | 156 | 7.12615 | 29 | 27 | 20044 | 21308 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 31 | 23 | 15 | 22 | 29 | 30 | 36 | 43 | 44 | 37 | 38 | 45 | 39 | 46 | 47 | 40 | 48 | 41 | 33 | 32 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 34 | 28 | 35 | 42 | 49 |
| oetuh | num | 2 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 38.5563 | 59 | 156 | 11.2117 | 36 | 35 | 20023 | 22681 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 22 | 23 | 29 | 36 | 43 | 44 | 37 | 30 | 24 | 31 | 32 | 38 | 45 | 46 | 39 | 47 | 40 | 48 | 41 | 33 | 25 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 19 | 26 | 34 | 27 | 20 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 21 | 28 | 35 | 42 | 49 |
example-data-path.csv Detail
Click-by-click path data showing each individual response (no headers)
| oetuh | 1 | numletter | 7 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 185 | 80 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 843 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| oetuh | 1 | numletter | 7 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 271 | 80 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1315 |
| oetuh | 1 | numletter | 7 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 357 | 80 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2090 |
| oetuh | 1 | numletter | 7 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 442 | 80 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2474 |
| oetuh | 1 | numletter | 7 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 528 | 80 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 3028 |
| oetuh | 1 | numletter | 7 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 614 | 80 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 3431 |
| oetuh | 1 | numletter | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 614 | 150 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 3871 |
| oetuh | 1 | numletter | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 614 | 220 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 4929 |
| oetuh | 1 | numletter | 7 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 528 | 150 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 5532 |
| oetuh | 1 | numletter | 7 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 442 | 150 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 6391 |
Sample data showing typical output format. Actual values will vary by participant.
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: 8 languages
Documentation Sources:
Test implementation, Parameter schema
Documentation Status: Standard