 
Cognitive  Task  Overview:  TestMyBrain  Flanker  Attention
 
Contact:  Info@ManyBrains.net  ManyBrains.net TestMyBrain.org
  TMB  Test  Name:  TestMyBrain  Flanker  Attention  Test  Demo:  standard  version Document  Version:  May.19.2026   
The  Many  Brains  Project  The  Many  Brains  Project is  a  US-based  501(c)3  non-profit  focused  on  the  development  of  digital  cognitive  testing  tools.  We  currently  support  many  different  types  of  research  studies  through  our  
infrastructure
 
for
 
cognitive
 
assessment
 
-
 
these
 
range
 
in
 
size
 
from
 
small
 
lab-based
 
pilot
 
studies
 
to
 
large
 
longitudinal,
 
multisite
 
clinical
 
research
 
studies
 
with
 
tens
 
of
 
thousands
 
of
 
participants.
  
As
 TestMyBrain.org has  been  continuously  in  operation  since  2008,  we  provide  a  stable  and  secure  platform  for  hosting  and  delivering  mobile  and  web-based  cognitive  assessment  protocols.  Through  
TestMyBrain.org,
 
data
 
have
 
been
 
collected
 
from
 
over
 
2.5
 
million
 
participants
 
in
 
a
 
citizen
 
science
 
framework
 
that
 
includes
 
structured
 
return
 
of
 
research
 
results
 
toward
 
the
 
development,
 
validation,
 
and
 
normative
 
characterization
 
of
 
cognitive
 
measures.
 
We
 
currently
 
support
 
research
 
and
 
education
 
at
 
over
 
400
 
sites
 
worldwide
 
as
 
well
 
as
 
support
 
for
 
over
 
1200
 
clinicians
 
or
 
clinical
 
sites
 
engaged
 
in
 
remote
 
digital
 neuropsychological  assessment.  For  more  information  contact  info@manybrains.net.   CITATION  Please  credit  The  Many  Brains  Project  and  TestMyBrain  in  any  papers,  posters,  or  publications  related  to  the  
TMB
 
tests
 
or
 
data
 
collected
 
by
 
TMB
 
tests.
 
 ●  Example:   -  All  tasks  were  selected  from  and  hosted  on  The  Many  Brains  Project’s  web-based  
cognitive
 
testing
 
platform,
 
TestMyBrain
 
(Germine
 
et
 
al.,
 
2012;
 
The
 
Many
 
Brains
 
Project).
 -  Germine,  L.,  Nakayama,  K.,  Duchaine,  B.  C.,  Chabris,  C.  F.,  Chatterjee,  G.,  &  
Wilmer,
 
J.
 
B.
 
(2012).
 
Is
 
the
 
Web
 
as
 
good
 
as
 
the
 
lab?
 
Comparable
 
performance
 
from
 
Web
 
and
 
lab
 
in
 
cognitive/perceptual
 
experiments.
 
Psychonomic
 
Bulletin
 
&
 
Review
,
 
19
(5),
 
847-857.
 -  The  Many  Brains  Project.  TestMyBrain  Cognitive  Tests .  URL:  www.manybrains.net 
 
The  Many  Brains  Project  -  1   

 
Test  Overview   Background:  TestMyBrain  Flanker  Attention  (Erb  et  al.,  2023;  Treviño  et  al.,  2021,  2022),  an  adapted  version  
of
 
classic
 
flanker
 
paradigms
 
(Eriksen
 
&
 
Eriksen,
 
1974)
 
designed
 
for
 
remote
 
administration,
 
measures
 
cognitive
 
control.
  Task  Parameters:  On  each  trial,  participants  must  report  the  direction  (left  or  right)  of  a  briefly  presented  target  
arrow,
 
which
 
is
 
bordered
 
on
 
each
 
side
 
by
 
flanking
 
arrows.
 
On
 
each
 
trial,
 
all
 
of
 
the
 
flanking
 
arrows
 
either
 
face
 
the
 
same
 
direction
 
as
 
the
 
target
 
arrow
 
(congruent
 
trials;
 
50%
 
of
 
trials)
 
or
 
in
 
the
 
opposite
 
direction
 
of
 
the
 
target
 
arrow
 
(incongruent
 
trials;
 
50%
 
of
 
trials).
 
The
 
less
 
a
 
participant’s
 
response
 
time
 
slows
 
and
 
accuracy
 
declines
 
on
 
incongruent
 
trials
 
relative
 
to
 
congruent
 
trials,
 
the
 
better
 
the
 
participant’s
 
cognitive
 
control.
 
  Each  trial  begins  with  only  the  response  option  buttons  present.  After  1000  ms,  four  flanking  
arrows
 
appear,
 
all
 
pointing
 
in
 
the
 
same
 
direction
 
(left
 
or
 
right),
 
without
 
the
 
central
 
target
 
arrow.
 
After
 
100
 
ms,
 
the
 
target
 
arrow
 
appears
 
along
 
with
 
the
 
flanking
 
arrows
 
for
 
300
 
ms.
 
After
 
the
 
target
 
arrow
 
has
 
been
 
visible
 
for
 
300
 
ms,
 
all
 
the
 
arrows
 
are
 
removed
 
from
 
the
 
screen,
 
leaving
 
only
 
the
 
response
 
button
 
options
 
visible.
 
After
 
70
 
ms,
 
a
 
fixation
 
cross
 
appears
 
and
 
remains
 
visible
 
until
 
the
 
participant
 
makes
 
a
 
response,
 
or
 
the
 
trial
 
times
 
out
 
after
 
3
 
seconds.
 
Participants
 
are
 
required
 
to
 
repeat
 
any
 
trials
 
that
 
time
 
out.
  After  completing  two  blocks  of  practice  trials  (4  trials  each),  participants  complete  three  blocks  
of
 
test
 
trials,
 
each
 
of
 
which
 
contains
 
32
 
test
 
trials
 
(96
 
total
 
test
 
trials).
 
Each
 
test
 
trial
 
block
 
has
 
an
 
equal
 
number
 
of
 
trials
 
where
 
the
 
target
 
arrow
 
points
 
left
 
versus
 
right,
 
and
 
an
 
equal
 
number
 
of
 
congruent
 
versus
 
incongruent
 
trials.
  Primary  Outcome:  A  rate  correct  score  can  be  calculated  separately  for  congruent  and  incongruent  trials.  The  rate  
correct
 
score
 
is
 
computed
 
as:
 
proportion
 
of
 
trials
 
answered
 
correctly
 
divided
 
by
 
median
 
reaction
 
time
 
in
 
seconds.
 
The
 
suggested
 
primary
 
outcome
 
for
 
the
 
test
 
is
 
rate
 
correct
 
score
 
interference
,
 
which
 
is
 
the
 
difference
 
in
 
rate
 
correct
 
score
 
for
 
congruent
 
trials
 
and
 
rate
 
correct
 
score
 
for
 
incongruent
 
trials.
 
However,
 
researchers
 
may
 
also
 
consider
 
computing
 
reaction
 
time
 
interference
 
or
 
accuracy
 
interference
 
individually,
 
or
 
computing
 
a
 
different
 
aggregated
 
measure
 
of
 
reaction
 
time
 
interference
 
and
 
accuracy
 
interference.
  User  Input:  If  a  participant’s  device  does  not  have  touch  capability,  the  participant  must  indicate  the  direction  
of
 
the
 
target
 
arrow
 
using
 
the
 
“x”
 
keyboard
 
key
 
to
 
report
 
“left”
 
or
 
the
 
“m”
 
keyboard
 
key
 
to
 
report
 
“right.”
 
If
 
a
 
participant’s
 
device
 
has
 
touch
 
capability,
 
the
 
participant
 
instead
 
responds
 
by
 
touching
 
either
 
a
 
button
 
depicting
 
a
 
left
 
arrow
 
or
 
a
 
button
 
depicting
 
a
 
right
 
arrow.
  Alternate  Task  Versions:  Alternate  forms  of  the  test  are  available  for  repeated  administration.   
The  Many  Brains  Project  -  2   

 
Psychometrics :   ●  Reliability :  In  single-session  testing,  variation  in  performance  between  participants  (rate  
correct
 
score
 
interference)
 
has
 
a
 
split-half
 
reliability
 
of
 
.85.
 ●  Score  distribution :   
           Trial  Structure:  
   References:   Erb,  C.  D.,  Germine,  L.,  &  Hartshorne,  J.  K.  (2023).  Cognitive  control  across  the  lifespan:  Congruency  effects  reveal  divergent  developmental  trajectories.  Journal  of  Experimental  Psychology:  General,  152 (11),  3285–3291.  Eriksen,  B.  A.,  &  Eriksen,  C.  W.  (1974).  Effects  of  noise  letters  upon  the  identification  of  a  target  letter  in  a  nonsearch  task.  Perception  &  Psychophysics ,  16 (1),  143-149.  Treviño,  M.,  Zhu,  X.,  Lu,  Y.  Y.,  Scheuer,  L.  S.,  Passell,  E.,  Huang,  G.  C.,  ...  &  Horowitz,  T.  S.  (2021).  How  do  we  measure  attention?  Using  factor  analysis  to  establish  construct  validity  of  
neuropsychological
 
tests.
 
Cognitive
 
Research:
 
Principles
 
and
 
Implications
,
 
6
(1),
 
1-26.
 Treviño,  M.,  Zhu,  X.,  Lu,  Y.  Y.,  Scheuer,  L.  S.,  Passell,  E.,  Huang,  G.,  ...  &  Horowitz,  T.  S.  (2022).  Establishing  construct  validity  of  neuropsychological  tests  in  cancer  survivors.  
Psycho
‐
Oncology
,
 
31
(10),
 
1728-1736.
  
The  Many  Brains  Project  -  3   
