Reading Span Task
Description
Complex working memory span task requiring participants to remember letters while judging whether sentences make sense.
About This Test
Participants read sentences and judge whether they make sense (True/False), then see a letter to remember. After a series of sentence-letter pairs (set size 3-7), they recall the letters in order by clicking on a grid of 12 possible letters. The task includes practice blocks for letter recall only, sentence judgments only, and combined trials. Sentence processing performance is monitored and participants must maintain 85% accuracy on sentence judgments to ensure divided attention. The main test consists of sets of 3 trials at each set size (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) in random order. Sentence reading time is calculated adaptively based on practice performance.
Test Details
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Scientific Background
Original Task References:
These references describe the original task that this PEBL implementation is based on.
- Daneman, M., & Carpenter, P. A. (1980). Individual differences in working memory and reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 19(4), 450-466.
- Unsworth, N., Redick, T. S., Heitz, R. P., Broadway, J. M., & Engle, R. W. (2009). Complex working memory span tasks and higher-order cognition: A latent-variable analysis of the relationship between processing and storage. Memory, 17(6), 635-654.
PEBL-Specific References:
These studies used the PEBL version of this task.
- Mueller, S. T. (2012). PEBL Reading Span Task. Computer software. http://pebl.sourceforge.net
Data Output
Creates four files: (1) readingspan-<SUBNUM>.csv with trial-level recall data, (2) readingspan-math-<SUBNUM>.csv with individual sentence judgment responses and reaction times, (3) readingspan-distraction-<SUBNUM>.csv with detailed sentence text and processing data, and (4) readingspan-report-<SUBNUM>.html with summary statistics and visualizations.
Example Data
example-data.csv Primary
Trial-level letter recall data with columns: subnum, trial, probtime, memtime, length, numstim, stim, resp, memcorr, time, distcorr, numcorrdist, totnumdist, runningcorrect, runningtotal
| subnum | trial | probtime | memtime | length | numstim | stim | resp | memcorr | time | distcorr | numcorrdist | totnumdist | runningcorrect | runningtotal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| example | 1 | -1 | 1000 | 2 | 3 | I|W | I|W | 1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| example | 2 | -1 | 1000 | 3 | 5 | I|T|Z | I|T|Z | 1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| example | 3 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | NA | 1323 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| example | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | NA | 1547 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ||
| example | 5 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | NA | 1503 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | ||
| example | 6 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | NA | 1624 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | ||
| example | 7 | 2147 | 1000 | 2 | 3 | J|E | J|E | 1 | 1461 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 8 |
| example | 8 | 2147 | 1000 | 2 | 3 | A|S | A|S | 1 | 1737 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 10 |
| example | 9 | 2147 | 1000 | 2 | 3 | J|F | J|F | 1 | 1620 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 12 |
example-data-math.csv
Sentence judgment data with columns: subnum, trial, symprestime, memtime, length, numcorrdist, totnumdist, problem, corrans, resp (1=correct, 0=incorrect, -1=timeout), rt (reaction time in ms)
| subnum | trial | mathprestime | memtime | length | numcorrdist | totnumdist | type | corr | rt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| example | 3 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | D | 1 | 1323 | |
| example | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | D | 1 | 1538 | |
| example | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | D | 1 | 1556 | |
| example | 5 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | D | 1 | 1090 | |
| example | 5 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | D | 1 | 1916 | |
| example | 6 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | D | 1 | 1624 | |
| example | 7 | 2147 | 1000 | 2 | 0 | 1 | D | 0 | 1776 | |
| example | 7 | 2147 | 1000 | 2 | 1 | 2 | D | 1 | 1146 | |
| example | 8 | 2147 | 1000 | 2 | 1 | 1 | D | 1 | 2003 |
example-data-distraction.csv
Detailed sentence processing data with columns: subnum, trial, symprestime, memtime, length, numcorrdist, totnumdist, problem (full sentence text with quotes), corrans, resp, rt
| subnum | trial | sentence | answer | truth | correct | rt | elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| example | 3 | Roses smell nice."" | This sentence makes sense."" | 1 | 1 | 1213 | 1323 |
| example | 4 | Cars have wheels."" | This sentence makes sense."" | 1 | 1 | 2133 | 1538 |
| example | 4 | Houses can sing."" | This sentence makes sense."" | 0 | 1 | 764 | 1556 |
| example | 5 | Wheels are square."" | This sentence makes sense."" | 0 | 1 | 967 | 1090 |
| example | 5 | The opposite of light is bright."" | This sentence makes sense."" | 0 | 1 | 931 | 1916 |
| example | 6 | To make a snowman you need bricks."" | This sentence makes sense."" | 0 | 1 | 733 | 1624 |
| example | 7 | You can see my teeth if I open my mouth."" | This sentence makes sense."" | 1 | 0 | 1036 | 1776 |
| example | 7 | Every day I comb my hair."" | This sentence makes sense."" | 1 | 1 | 840 | 1146 |
| example | 8 | The rocket went up into outer farms."" | This sentence makes sense."" | 0 | 1 | 783 | 2003 |
example-data-report.html Report
HTML report with summary statistics (total correct, partial credit, accuracy by set size), performance graphs, and trial-by-trial breakdown
📊 Interactive HTML Report Preview Open in new window →
Sample data showing typical output format. Actual values will vary by participant.
About This Test
Complex working memory span task requiring participants to remember letters while judging whether sentences make sense.
Category: Memory
Estimated Duration: 15 minutes
Available Translations: 7 languages
Documentation Sources:
Test description file, Test implementation, Parameter schema
Documentation Status: Standard