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Terms Type Definition
abductive reasoningabductive reasoning concept the process of adopting an explanatory hypothesis; inferring the cause A as a possible explanation for the consequence B
abstract analogyabstract analogy concept high-level analogy that retains general information relevant to many specific instances
abstract knowledgeabstract knowledge concept Knowledge that is general and not tied to a specific instance.
Abstract/concrete judgment: BilingualAbstract/concrete judgment: Bilingual task Task in which subjects are presented with words that are either abstract or concrete nouns, and decide for each term whether it is abstract or concrete.
abstract/concrete taskabstract/concrete task task A task in which subjects decide whether words are abstract or concrete.
acoustic codingacoustic coding concept a type of short term memory coding that represents the acoustic properties of the signal
acoustic encodingacoustic encoding concept the processing and encoding of auditory input for storage and later retrieval.
acoustic phonetic processingacoustic phonetic processing concept the cognitive ability to discriminate items on the basis of contrasts in sonorance, manner, place, or voicing in auditory stimuli.
acoustic processingacoustic processing concept the extraction of information from signals propagated undersea, in the atmosphere, or in the solid earth in the presence of acoustic noise.
acoustic reflexacoustic reflex concept an involuntary muscle contraction that occurs in the middle ear of mammals in response to high-intensity sound stimuli.
actionaction concept the bringing about of an alteration by force or through a natural agency; expression by means of attitude, voice, and gesture; a function of the body or one of its parts; an act of will; a thing done; the accomplishment of a thing usually over a period of time, in stages, or with the possibility of repetition.
Action imitation taskAction imitation task task A task in which a participant sees another person perform an action and later performs the same action him/herself. Imitation can be immediate or delayed. It can be instructed or elicited implicitly (without the participant's conscious awareness)...
action initiationaction initiation concept the facilitation or initiation of an act
Action observation taskAction observation task task Subjects view images of actions in order to learn the action themselves.
action selectionaction selection concept The selection of one action from a set of possible actions.
activationactivation concept bio-chemical sciences: the process whereby something is prepared or excited for a subsequent reaction.
activation levelactivation level concept quantity or amount of activation
active maintenanceactive maintenance concept The maintenance of information in working memory through active (volitional) rather than passive means
active recallactive recall concept a principle of efficient learning, which claims the need to actively stimulate memory during the learning process.
active retrievalactive retrieval concept Effortful (volitional) attempt to consciously recollect a memory; often required when retrieval cannot be automatically driven by stimuli.
acuityacuity concept keenness of perception.
Acupuncture TaskAcupuncture Task task subjects are stimulated with Chinese acupuncture.
adaptationadaptation concept adjustment to environmental conditions; adjustment of a sense organ to the intensity or quality of stimulation; modification of an organism or its parts that makes it more fit for existence under the conditions of its environment...
adaptive controladaptive control concept modifying the control law used by a controller to cope with the fact that the parameters of the system being controlled are slowly time-varying or uncertain.
Adult Attachment InterviewAdult Attachment Interview task Standardized interview used to assess developmental and attachment history.
affect perceptionaffect perception concept The ability to understand a facial, vocal, or gestural behavior that serves as an indicator of emotion.
affect recognitionaffect recognition concept The ability to understand a physical expression that serves as an indicator of emotion.
alternating runs paradigmalternating runs paradigm task A type of task-switching paradigm in which two different tasks are presented in alternating runs or blocks
altruismaltruism concept having the motivation to help others without reward.
altruistic motivationaltruistic motivation concept A desire or need to help others driven by selflessness.
alveolaralveolar concept of, relating to, resembling, or having alveoli; of, relating to, or constituting the part of the jaws where the teeth arise, the air-containing compartments of the lungs, or glands with secretory cells about a central space; articulated with the tip of the tongue touching or near the teethridge.
amodal representationamodal representation concept The way the brain codes multiple inputs such as words and pictures to integrate and create a larger conceptual idea; independent of a particular modality
analog representationanalog representation concept a value or variable in analog form.
analogical encodinganalogical encoding concept No definition submitted yet
analogical inferenceanalogical inference concept is the ability to reason by permitting the extension of knowledge of a target domain by virtue of its similarity to a base domain. The general procedure for analogical inference involves copying structure from the base to the target in which missing information is generated, and substitutions are made for items for which analogical correspondences have already been found...
analogical problem solvinganalogical problem solving concept using principles or concepts from a well-understood situation to solve problems in a new domain or area
analogical reasoninganalogical reasoning concept a method of processing information that compares the similarities between new and understood concepts, then uses those similarities to gain understanding of the new concept; a form of inductive reasoning.
analogical reasoning taskanalogical reasoning task task
analogical transferanalogical transfer concept The transfer of knowledge from one situation to another by finding a set of one-to-one correspondences between aspects of one body of information and aspects of another.
analogyanalogy concept inference that if two or more things agree with one another in some respects they will probably agree in others; resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike; correspondence between the members of pairs or sets of linguistic forms that serves as a basis for the creation of another form; correspondence in function between anatomical parts of different structure and origin.
anchoringanchoring concept a cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily, or "anchor," on one trait or piece of information when making decisions.
animal naming taskanimal naming task task animals are presented, usually pictorially, and participants are asked to name them aloud
anomaly detectionanomaly detection concept detecting patterns in a given data set that do not conform to an established normal behavior.
anticipationanticipation concept The process before a certain event occurs
Antisaccade/prosaccade taskAntisaccade/prosaccade task task Subjects view a fixation point and a visual target is presented. Subjects are instructed to make a saccade away from the target (antisaccade) or to the target (prosaccade).
apparent motionapparent motion concept The illusory perception that movement is occurring in one or more static images.
apparent movementapparent movement concept the subjective perception of movement when in fact no physical movement is taking place.
apperceptionapperception concept the process by which new experience is assimilated to and transformed by the residuum of past experience of an individual to form a new whole.
appetitive motivationappetitive motivation concept behavior directed toward goals that are usually associated with positive hedonic processes.
arousalarousal concept to rouse or stimulate to action; physiological readiness for activity.
articulationarticulation concept the action or manner of jointing or interrelating; the state of being jointed or interrelated; the act of giving utterance or expression; a joint or juncture between bones or cartilages in the skeleton of a vertebrate.
articulatory looparticulatory loop concept (also referred to as the ‘phonological loop’), is one of the subsystems postulated in Alan Baddeley’s multicomponent model of WORKING MEMORY, specialized for the temporary storage of verbal information...
articulatory planningarticulatory planning concept The action of coordinating complex tongue and mouth movements in order to produce sound.
articulatory rehearsalarticulatory rehearsal concept the process of subvocally repeating material that is to be stored in memory.
artificial grammar learning taskartificial grammar learning task task
assimilationassimilation concept the process of receiving new facts or of responding to new situations in conformity with what is already available to consciousness.
associationassociation concept an organization of persons having a common interest; something linked in memory or imagination with a thing or person; the process of forming mental connections or bonds between sensations, ideas, or memories.
association learningassociation learning concept learning process in which two or more items or concepts become associated with each other; often used in relation to learned stimulus-response associations
attachmentattachment concept the state of being personally attached; the physical connection by which one thing is attached to another; the process of physically attaching.
attended channelattended channel concept the particular input, out of two or more, that is consciously perceived due to attention.
attended stimulusattended stimulus concept the specific object in the environment on which attention is focused.
attentionattention concept the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things.
attention capacityattention capacity concept refers to the extent that one can allocate their processing resources.
attention networks testattention networks test task involves presenting participants with flanker stimuli in which a target item (>) is surrounded by congruent (> > > > >), neutral (- - > - -), or incongruent ( > > >) flankers. Stimulus presentation is preceded by different cue conditions and the participant is instructed to identify the target stimulus.
attention shiftattention shift concept The change that occurs when information that is currently active in the mind is replaced by other information. The information content is typically sensory in nature.
attention shiftingattention shifting concept The process by which information that is currently relevant in the mind is replaced by other information. This information is typically sensory in nature but may also be semantic.
attention spanattention span concept Amount of time or space that an individual can dedicate to particular task or content without becoming distracted.
attentional blink taskattentional blink task task attentional processing of a first stimulus interferes with and/or delays the allocation of attention to a second stimulus if the second is presented before the processing of the first has been completed.
attentional effortattentional effort concept a motivated activation of attention systems in order to stabilize or recover attentional performance in response to the detection of errors and reward loss or, more generally, deteriorating attentional performance; amount of attentional resources needed for a particular situation
attentional focusingattentional focusing concept The ability to focus attention on cues in the environment that are relevant to the task in hand; can also include suppression of distracting stimuli
attentional resourcesattentional resources concept amount of available attentional capacity
attentional stateattentional state concept referring to amount of attentional resources being engaged; a relaxed attentional state requires little attentional effort, whereas an alert, focused attentional state requires more
attitudeattitude concept a position assumed for a specific purpose; a mental position with regard to a fact or state; an organismic state of readiness to respond in a characteristic way to a stimulus (as an object, concept, or situation).
audio-visual target-detection taskaudio-visual target-detection task task This task pairs auditory and visual stimuli. Participants are asked to indicate when the paired stimuli are presented in synchrony, or to identify the locations of the stimuli among distracting visual and auditory information.
audiovisual perceptionaudiovisual perception concept a single unified awareness derived from the integration of auditory and visual sensory processes when a audiovisual stimulus is present.

auditionaudition concept the power or sense of hearing; the act of hearing.
auditoryauditory concept of or relating to hearing; attained, experienced, or produced through or as if through hearing; marked by great susceptibility to impressions and reactions produced by acoustic stimuli.
auditory attentionauditory attention concept is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one auditory stream in the environment while ignoring others.
auditory codingauditory coding concept processing and encoding of sound, words, and all other auditory input for storage and later retrieval. According to Baddeley, processing of auditory information is aided by the concept of the phonological loop, which allows input within our echoic memory.
auditory encodingauditory encoding concept the process of storing auditory information in memory.
auditory feedbackauditory feedback concept is provided by auditory stimulation in response to specific behavior. The feedback may be used to amend subsequent behavior, cognition, perception or performance.
auditory groupingauditory grouping concept joining disparate sounds together into one percept; assessing which acoustic streams belong together
auditory imageryauditory imagery concept the subjective experience of hearing in the absence of auditory stimulation.
auditory learningauditory learning concept a learning style in which a person learns through listening.
auditory lexical accessauditory lexical access concept The process by which the basic sound-meaning connections of language, i.e., lexical entries, are activated.
auditory localizationauditory localization concept a listener's ability to identify the location or origin of a detected sound.
auditory maskingauditory masking concept the perception of one sound is affected by the presence of another sound; presenting a sound to interfere with or terminate a target sound
auditory memoryauditory memory concept the cognitive capacity of storing and retrieving information related to sound.
auditory perceptionauditory perception concept The ability to identify, interpret, and attach meaning to sound.
auditory sceneauditory scene concept auditory scene analysis is the process by which the human auditory system organizes sound into perceptually meaningful elements.
auditory scene analysisauditory scene analysis concept the process by which the human auditory system organizes sound into perceptually meaningful elements.
auditory sentence comprehensionauditory sentence comprehension concept ability to combine auditory words into a meaningful sentence unit.
auditory stream segregationauditory stream segregation concept the perceptual grouping of sounds to form coherent representations of objects in the acoustic scene; a fundamental aspect of hearing and speech perception.
auditory temporal discrimination taskauditory temporal discrimination task task A task in which the subject discriminates auditory stimuli based on temporal characteristics.
auditory word comprehensionauditory word comprehension concept ability to parse acoustic signals into meaningful words
auditory word recognitionauditory word recognition concept ability to recognize acoustically presented words
auditory working memoryauditory working memory concept Working memory for auditory information
Autism Diagnostic Observation ScheduleAutism Diagnostic Observation Schedule task Series of structured and semi-structured tasks that involve social interaction between the examiner and the subject. Subject is given opportunities to exhibit social and communication behaviors relevant to Austism
autobiographical memoryautobiographical memory concept a memory system consisting of episodes recollected from an individual’s life, based on a combination of episodic (personal experiences and specific objects, people and events experienced at particular time and place) and semantic (general knowledge and facts about the world) memory.
autobiographical memory taskautobiographical memory task task
autobiographical recallautobiographical recall concept episodes recollected from an individual’s life, based on a combination of episodic (personal experiences and specific objects, people and events experienced at particular time and place) and semantic (general knowledge and facts about the world) memory...
automaticityautomaticity concept largely or wholly involuntary; especially; acting or done spontaneously or unconsciously; done or produced as if by machine; having a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism.
availability heuristicavailability heuristic concept A heuristic in which people predict the frequency of classes or the probability of events based on the ease with which relevant instances come to mind.
aversive learningaversive learning concept behavior modification using an adverse stimulus in response to the inappropriate or undesirable behavior.
awarenessawareness concept having knowledge or cognizance.
AX-CPT taskAX-CPT task task A version of the continuous performance task in which subjects are told to make one response for the letter X when it was preceded by the letter A, and another response for all other stimuli.
หยฟืหยฟื Span
backward chainingbackward chaining concept an inference method used in automated theorem provers, proof assistants and other artificial intelligence applications. Backward chaining starts with a list of goals (or a hypothesis) and works backwards from the consequent to the antecedent to see if there is data available that will support any of these consequents.
Backward digit span taskBackward digit span task task a test used to measure working memory, attention, concentration, and mental control. In a typical test of memory span, a list of random numbers or letters is read out loud or presented on a computer screen at the rate of one per second...
backward maskingbackward masking task a phenomenon wherein presenting one stimulus (a "mask" or "masking stimulus") immediately after another brief (≤ 50 ms) "target" stimulus leads to a failure to consciously perceive the first stimulus.
Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART)Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) task On each trial, participants pump a simulated balloon without knowing when it will explode. Each pump increases the potential reward to be gained but also the probability of explosion, whichwipesoutallpotentialgains for that trial...
behavioral inhibitionbehavioral inhibition concept Disambiguation
behavioral inhibition (cognitive)behavioral inhibition (cognitive) concept Often used as a synonym of "response inhibition" to describe the inhibition of actions.
behavioral inhibition (temperament)behavioral inhibition (temperament) concept A temperamental characteristic described by shyness and social anxiety.
Behavioral Investment allocation strategy (BIAS)Behavioral Investment allocation strategy (BIAS) task On each trial, participants choose between two stocks (gain/loss gambles, one stochastically dominating the other) and one bond (a sure gain of $1). They must learn through trial-and-error the characteristics of the stocks, which change over blocks of trials...
Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive FunctionBehavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function task used for evaluating and planning treatment strategies for a wide spectrum of developmental and acquired neurological conditions, including learning disabilities, low birth weight, ADHD, Tourette's disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Autism; consists of 8 non-overlapping clinical scales that form two broader indexes: Behavior Regulation (three scales) and Metacognition (five scales)...
beliefbelief concept a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing; conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence.
Benton Facial Recognition TestBenton Facial Recognition Test task A tool used to assess deficits in facial recognition.
bimanual coordination taskbimanual coordination task task
binocular convergencebinocular convergence concept when you look at an object that is closer than approximately 25 feet, your eyes must converge on the object to perceive it as a single object clearly in focus."
binocular disparitybinocular disparity concept the difference in image location of an object seen by the left and right eyes, resulting from the eyes' horizontal separation. The brain uses binocular disparity to extract depth information from the two-dimensional retinal images in stereopsis.
binocular visionbinocular vision concept is vision in which both eyes are used together. Having two eyes confers at least four advantages over having one. First, it gives a creature a spare eye in case one is damaged. Second, it gives a wider field of view...
biological motion taskbiological motion task task
Birmingham Object Recognition BatteryBirmingham Object Recognition Battery task a set of standardized procedures for assessing neuropsychological disorders of visual object recognition which includes tests to assess low-level aspects of visual perception (using same-different matching of basic perceptual features, such as orientation, length, position and object size), intermediate visual processes (e...
bitternessbitterness concept being or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is peculiarly acrid, astringent, or disagreeable; marked by intensity or severity; marked by cynicism and rancor; intensely unpleasant especially in coldness or rawness; expressive of severe pain, grief, or regret.
Block Design TestBlock Design Test task The Block Design is a subtest of Perceptual Reasoning index of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale IV. The Block Design test measures spatial perception, visual abstract processing, and problem solving.
Block Tapping TestBlock Tapping Test task tool used for assessment of visual short-term memory and implicit visual-spatial learning. An examiner taps a series of blocks and the subject must repeat in the correct sequential order. If the sequence is correct, the examiner adds another tap to the next sequence.
body orientationbody orientation concept No definition submitted yet
body representationbody representation concept A mental representation of one's own body
Boston Naming TestBoston Naming Test task assesses the ability to name pictures of objects through spontaneous responses and need for various types of cueing, inferences can be drawn regarding language facility and possible localization of cerebral damage.
Braille Reading TaskBraille Reading Task task Blind subjects read Braille words with their finger(s).
Breath-HoldingBreath-Holding task Subjects hold their breath as examiner measures mean blood flow velocity divided by time to find the breath-holding index (BHI). Measures cerebral hemodynamic auto-regulation.
Brixton Spatial Anticipation TestBrixton Spatial Anticipation Test task No definition submitted yet.
California Verbal Learning TestCalifornia Verbal Learning Test task No definition submitted yet.
California Verbal Learning Test-IICalifornia Verbal Learning Test-II task A comprehensive and detailed assessment of verbal learning and memory available for older adolescents and adults. In addition to recall and recognition scores, it measures encoding strategies, learning rates, error types, and other process data.
Cambridge Face Memory TestCambridge Face Memory Test task a test with high reliability and validity that assesses the ability to learn and then recognize six new faces.
Cambridge Gambling TaskCambridge Gambling Task task A behavioral task intended to measure risky decision making by subjects.

A token is hidden under one of six boxes that are each one of two colors.Different trials

have different ratios between box colors(3:3,4:2,5:1)...
Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery task is a computer-based cognitive assessment system consisting of a battery of neuropsychological tests, administered to subjects using a touch screen computer. The 22 tests in CANTAB examine various areas of cognitive function, including:



* general memory and learning,

* working memory and executive function,

* visual memory,

* attention and reaction time (RT),

* semantic/verbal memory,

* decision making and response control...
Cambridge risk taskCambridge risk task task
capacity limitationcapacity limitation concept No definition submitted yet
capsaicin-evoked paincapsaicin-evoked pain task Capsaicin, the active ingredient of chili peppers, is injected intradermally into the skin and participants rate the experienced sensation on a rating scale.
case based reasoningcase based reasoning concept the process of solving new problems based on the solutions of similar past problems.
CatBat taskCatBat task task No definition submitted yet.
categorical clusteringcategorical clustering concept No definition submitted yet
categorical knowledgecategorical knowledge concept knowledge about different attributes and uses of an object that allows it to be placed in a group of objects with similar attributes and uses.
categorical perceptioncategorical perception concept No definition submitted yet
categorizationcategorization concept the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood.
categorization taskcategorization task task Task in which a subject classifies stimuli into one of a set of categories
category based inductioncategory based induction concept requires that information about one set of categories is used to infer something about another category. A set of premises establishes that one or more categories possess a certain property. The premises are followed by an assertion (the conclusion) that a target category also possesses that property...
category fluency testcategory fluency test task a psychological test in which participants have to say as many words as possible from a category in a given time (usually 60 seconds), this category can be semantic, such as animals or fruits, or phonemic, such as words that begin with letter p.
category learningcategory learning concept is a strategy which requires a learner to compare and contrast groups or categories that contain concept-relevant features with groups or categories that do not contain concept-relevant features.
cattell culture fair intelligence testcattell culture fair intelligence test task No definition submitted yet.
causal inferencecausal inference concept The process of defining that one state/object/event determines the occurrence of another state/object/event.
central attentioncentral attention concept is the cognitive process that allows one to focus on the most important and relevant train of thought that needs to be attended to in a specific situation.
Central CoherenceCentral Coherence concept A person's ability to understand things in context
central executivecentral executive concept The core mental process of working memory that allows for information that is stored in short-term memory to be actively manipulated (e.g., mental arithmetic). The term 'central executive' is typically associated with psychologist Alan Baddeley's "Model of Working Memory".
centrationcentration concept the tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation and neglect others.
chemonociceptionchemonociception concept working memory
Chewing/SwallowingChewing/Swallowing task Subjects chew an oral stimulus that is not food (e.g., gum) or swallow their own saliva. If the oral stimulus is food or liquid that is swallowed, then the correct paradigm class is Eating/Drinking.
Chimeric Animal Stroop TaskChimeric Animal Stroop Task task A task in which participants are shown pictures of chimeric animals (such as a duck's head attached to a cow's body) and asked to name animal that the head belongs to while ignoring the identity of the body, or vice versa...
choicechoice concept the mental process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one of them.
choice reaction time taskchoice reaction time task task Choice reaction time tasks require distinct responses for each possible class of stimulus. For example, the subject might be asked to press one button if a red light appears and a different button if a yellow light appears.
Choice task between risky and non-risky optionsChoice task between risky and non-risky options task a choice made between two or more options when one of those options has some probability >0 of producing either a reinforcing or an aversive consequence
chromatic contrastchromatic contrast concept When a small patch is surrounded by a color field, the patch appears to be tinted in the opponent color of the surrounding field.
chunkchunk concept Structure in memory that is used as a unit of knowledge representation. Also refers to the process of learning by which these units are acquired.
chunkingchunking concept The process of recoding information by splitting or reorganizing it into smaller parts.

Actually: combining several smaller items into a larger "group" item, i.e.: 3 separate "incoming aircraft" considered as "3 incoming aircraft"...
Classical ConditioningClassical Conditioning task Subjects are presented with paired stimuli in an attempt to study associative learning or get a subject to react to the conditioned stimulus in the same manner as the unconditioned stimulus, demonstrating a learned association between the two.
classification probe without feedbackclassification probe without feedback task is preformed after receiving training in the classification learning task. It is similar to the classification learning task but in this task the subject does not receive feedback.
Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-3Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-3 task 3rd edition of an assessment used to evaluate the nature and extent of language difficulties in school children and adolescents.
cognitioncognition concept The process of thought; includes all psychological/mental functions that allow for subsequent reflection given some information.
cognitive controlcognitive control concept The top-down modulation of cognitive processes based on higher-order representations such as goals or plans.
cognitive developmentcognitive development concept the construction of thought processes, including remembering, problem solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood.
cognitive dissonancecognitive dissonance concept The mental state in which a person holds multiple conflicting ideas simultaneously
cognitive effortcognitive effort concept No definition submitted yet
cognitive heuristiccognitive heuristic concept are simple, efficient rules, hard-coded by evolutionary processes or learned, which have been proposed to explain how people make decisions, come to judgments, and solve problems, typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information...
cognitive loadcognitive load concept The amount of demand placed on working memory, typically expressed along some continuum and within a theoretical maximum.
cognitive mapcognitive map concept a type of mental processing composed of a series of psychological transformations by which an individual can acquire, code, store, recall, and decode information about the relative locations and attributes of phenomena in their everyday or metaphorical spatial environment.
Cold Pressor testCold Pressor test task The hand or foot is immersed into a bowl of iced water and participants report their sensation from first clear pain to unbearable pain on a scale.
cold stimulation cold stimulation task A noxious cold stimulus is applied to the skin and the participant rates the experienced sensation on a visual analogue scale.
color naming taskcolor naming task task
color perceptioncolor perception concept The process of distinguishing objects based on the wavelengths of the light they reflect or emit.
color trails testcolor trails test task No definition submitted yet.
color-discrimination taskcolor-discrimination task task is a behavioral task where a subject is to make specific responses when presented with particular colors. The responses to the various colors are then evaluated to see if the subject was able to discern between different colors...
Color-word Stroop TaskColor-word Stroop Task task A task in which single words (including names of colors) are presented in colored ink, and the subject is asked to name the color of the ink as quickly as possible. The ink color may either match or conflict with the color name...
communicationcommunication concept a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.
competitioncompetition concept the act or process of competing; active demand by two or more organisms or kinds of organisms for some environmental resource in short supply; a contest between rivals.
complex span testcomplex span test task No definition submitted yet.
comprehensioncomprehension concept the act or action of grasping with the intellect, understanding; the capacity for understanding fully.
conceptconcept concept a cognitive unit of meaning—an abstract idea or a mental symbol sometimes defined as a "unit of knowledge," built from other units which act as a concept's characteristics.
concept learningconcept learning concept Concept learning, also known as category learning and concept attainment, is largely based on the works of the cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner. Bruner, Goodnow, & Austin (1967) defined concept attainment (or concept learning) as "the search for and listing of attributes that can be used to distinguish exemplars from non exemplars of various categories...
conceptual categoryconceptual category concept No definition submitted yet
conceptual coherenceconceptual coherence concept combining a set concepts to make sense of a situation or set of situations.
conceptual metaphorconceptual metaphor concept In cognitive linguistics, metaphor is defined as understanding one conceptual domain in terms of another conceptual domain; for example, using one person's life experience to understand a different person's experience...
conceptual planningconceptual planning concept No definition submitted yet
conceptual skillconceptual skill concept is the ability to form concepts about abstract and complex ideas such as communication, language, time, and money, for example.
conceptualizationconceptualization concept to form a concept of; to interpret.
conditional reasoningconditional reasoning concept the reasoner must draw a conclusion based on a conditional, or “if…then,” proposition.
Conditional stop signal taskConditional stop signal task task A task in which an external stimulus signals the participant to interrupt an already-initiated motor response, but only for a subset of possible responses.
conflict detectionconflict detection concept No definition submitted yet
conjunction searchconjunction search concept the process of searching for a target that is not defined by any single unique visual feature, but by a combination of two or more features.
conjunction search taskconjunction search task task A task that requires the subject to search for a stimulus defined by a combination of visual features.
connotationconnotation concept the suggesting of a meaning by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes; something suggested by a word or thing; the signification of something; an essential property or group of properties of a thing named by a term in logic.
consciousnessconsciousness concept the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself; the state or fact of being conscious of an external object, state, or fact; the state of being characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, and thought; the totality of conscious states of an individual; the normal state of conscious life,(regained consciousness); the upper level of mental life of which the person is aware as contrasted with unconscious processes...
consolidationconsolidation concept the process of uniting, the quality or state of being united.
constancyconstancy concept steadfastness of mind under duress; a state of being constant or unchanging.
constituent structureconstituent structure concept is an analysis, often in the form of a schematic representation, of the constituents of a construction, such as a sentence.
contextcontext concept A set of interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs (e.g., a style of language in a particular passage, activity of a given regions given sensory input).
context dependentcontext dependent concept is a class of memory that refers to improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.
context memorycontext memory concept refers to improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are similar.
contextual cueing taskcontextual cueing task task
contextual knowledgecontextual knowledge concept information, and/or skills that have particular meaning because of the conditions that form part of their description.
contingency learningcontingency learning concept No definition submitted yet
Continuous Performance TaskContinuous Performance Task task A task in which subjects are presented with a stream of letters, and must respond to one of the letters and refrain from responding to any other letters.
continuous recognition paradigmcontinuous recognition paradigm task In the continuous recognition paradigm, study and test phases are not separate entities, but rather, items are continuously presented and the participant is instructed to respond to an item as "old" if it has been seen before (generally presented a second time) in this continual stream of item presentation...
contrastive stresscontrastive stress concept No definition submitted yet
conventionalityconventionality concept the quality, fact, or condition of being conventional; conventional behavior or act; a conventional form, usage, or rule.
convergent thinkingconvergent thinking concept analytical, usually deductive, thinking in which ideas are examined for their logical validity or in which a set of rules is followed.
conversationconversation concept An exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas.
conversational normconversational norm concept No definition submitted yet
conversational speechconversational speech concept is interactive, more-or-less spontaneous, communication between two or more conversants. Interactivity occurs because contributions to a conversation are response reactions to what has previously been said...
conversational structureconversational structure concept is the organization of interactive, more-or-less spontaneous, communication between two or more conversants.
coordinationcoordination concept is the act of coordinating, making different people or things work together for a goal or effect.
coproductioncoproduction concept No definition submitted yet
coreferencecoreference concept a relationship between two words or phrases in which both refer to the same person or thing and one stands as a linguistic antecedent of the other.
Corsi BlocksCorsi Blocks task was developed in the early 1970s as a visuospatial counterpart to the verbal-memory span task (Milner, 1971). Over the years, it has frequently been used to assess visuospatial short-term memory performance in adults (e...
Counting Stroop TaskCounting Stroop Task task No definition submitted yet.
Counting/CalculationCounting/Calculation task Subjects count, add, subtract, multiply, or divide various stimuli (numbers, bars, dots, etc).
covert naming taskcovert naming task task A task in which subjects name a stimulus silently
creative cognitioncreative cognition concept involves two types of processes: generative processes and exploratory processes.



Generative processes are those that most of us think about when we think of creativity. They are the processes by which creative concepts are first born...
creative problem solvingcreative problem solving concept the mental process of independently creating a solution to a problem without learned assistance.
creative thinkingcreative thinking concept the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action (Scriven & Paul, 1992).
critical periodcritical period concept a limited time in which an event can occur, usually to result in some kind of transformation; in developmental psychology and developmental biology, it is a time in the early stages of an organism's life during which it displays a heightened sensitivity to certain environmental stimuli, and develops in particular ways due to experiences at this time.
crossmodalcrossmodal concept Describes a complex of two or more modality-specific [unimodal] stimuli from different sensory modalities (from, Stein BE et al., (2009) Experimental brain research 198: 113-26. doi:10.1007/s00221-009-1880-8)
crosstalkcrosstalk concept biology: the phenomenon that signal components in signal transduction can be shared between different signal pathways and responses to a signal inducing condition (e.g., stress) can activate multiple responses in the cell/the organism...
crystallized intelligencecrystallized intelligence concept the ability to utilize previously acquired knowledge and experience.
cue dependent forgettingcue dependent forgetting concept is the failure to recall a memory due to missing stimuli or cues that were present at the time the memory was encoded.
cue validitycue validity concept the conditional probability that an object falls in a particular category given a particular feature or cue.
Cued Explicit RecognitionCued Explicit Recognition task Subjects view a list of items (words, pictures, sounds, or abstract patterns) prior to scanning. During scanning, probe words are presented and subject recall if the words are familiar or unfamiliar.
cueingcueing concept to give/present a stimulus that prompts a reaction.
Cups taskCups task task On each trial, participants choose between a risky and safe option. Each trial involves either gains or losses. The options are presented as a choice of cups. The risky option involves two to five cups, one containing a gain (loss) of $2, $3 or $5, and the others containing $0...
Cyberball taskCyberball task task A task in which subjects view a set of balls interacting in game. At some point one of the balls is excluded from the game, simulating social exclusion.
dative shiftdative shift concept a grammatical process by which an oblique argument of a verb, usually one functioning as a recipient or a benefactive (roles often expressed by datives), is placed in the same grammatical role as a patient, increasing the valency of the verb and forming a clause with two objects.
decay of activationdecay of activation concept An explanation for why spreading activation, in network-based models of knowledge representation, peters out as a function of the distance between nodes.
deceptiondeception concept an act to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth (as in half-truths or omission).
Deception TaskDeception Task task Subjects are asked to perform a task and either lie or be truthful in their responses.
decisiondecision concept The outcome of a process during which a choice is made, usually between several possible options
decision makingdecision making concept The selection of a course of action among several alternatives.
declarative knowledgedeclarative knowledge concept Knowledge that is descriptive and includes knowing "that" rather than knowing "how" (can be expressed in declarative sentences).
declarative memorydeclarative memory concept Memory for facts, and that can be intentionally articulated in some manner.
declarative ruledeclarative rule concept A criterion for which one possesses declarative knowledge. Contrasts with an implicit or non-declarative rule, which one might follow but not represent as a rule or even be aware that they are following.
deductive inferencedeductive inference concept A type of inference in which the conclusion always follows from the stated premises.If the premises are true, then the conclusion is valid.
deductive reasoningdeductive reasoning concept is reasoning which constructs or evaluates deductive arguments. Deductive arguments are attempts to show that a conclusion necessarily follows from a set of premises or hypotheses.
Deductive Reasoning TaskDeductive Reasoning Task task Participants generate or evaluate conclusions based on given or well-known premises.
deep processingdeep processing concept Evaluating a piece of information in terms of meaning or associations to other concepts as opposed to surface or incidental characteristics.
deep structuredeep structure concept The essential meaning of a sentence, without regard to the grammatical features (surface structure) of the sentence that are needed to express it in words.
delayed discounting taskdelayed discounting task task A task for identifying preferences over tradeoffs between costs and benefits occurring at different times.
delayed match to sample taskdelayed match to sample task task Subjects view an item(s). After a brief delay a probe item is presented and subjects are asked to recall if the probe item was presented before the delay (during encoding). Stimuli can be words, pictures, or abstract patterns...
delayed nonmatch to sample taskdelayed nonmatch to sample task task A task in which an target is presented and then removed from view. This target must be maintained in working memory for a delay, after which it is presented with non-target(s). The participant's task is to identify the non-target.
delayed recall testdelayed recall test task A task in which participants are given information to remember (list of words or paragraph) and which they are asked to reproduce after some span of time.
delayed response taskdelayed response task task No definition submitted yet.
depth cuedepth cue concept Depth perception arises from a variety of depth cues. These are typically classified into binocular cues that require input from both eyes and monocular cues that require the input from just one eye. Binocular cues include stereopsis, yielding depth from binocular vision through exploitation of parallax...
depth perceptiondepth perception concept Ability to perceive the visual world in three dimensions.
desiredesire concept to long or hope for, exhibit or feel desire for; to express a wish for.
deterministic classificationdeterministic classification task Is a feedback-driven learning task in which participants classify stimuli into different categories. A common version of this task is the "weather prediction task."
Devils TaskDevils Task task This task is a forerunner to the BART: on each trial, participants decide howmany of seven treasure chests to open. They are informed that six boxes contain a prize and one box contains a ‘devil’ that will cause themto lose all their potential gains on that trial...
dichotic listening taskdichotic listening task task No definition submitted yet.
Digit Cancellation TaskDigit Cancellation Task task No definition submitted yet.
Digit span taskDigit span task task A task in which participants are presented with sequentially presented digits and are then asked to recall the items. The number of digits that can be correctly recalled provides an estimate of working memory capacity.
Digit/Symbol Coding testDigit/Symbol Coding test task a neuropsychological test sensitive to brain damage, dementia, age and depression; consists of (e.g. nine) digit-symbol pairs (e.g. 1/-,2/┴ ... 7/Λ,8/X,9/=) followed by a list of digits. Under each digit the subject should write down the corresponding symbol as fast as possible...
diphthongdiphthong concept a gliding monosyllabic speech sound (as the vowel combination at the end of toy) that starts at or near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves to or toward the position of another.
directed forgetting taskdirected forgetting task task No definition submitted yet.
discoursediscourse concept the capacity of orderly thought or procedure, verbal interchange of ideas; formal and orderly and usually extended expression of thought on a subject, connected speech or writing, linguistic unit larger than a sentence.
discourse comprehensiondiscourse comprehension concept Discourse comprehension is the act of interpreting a written or spoken message by integrating the incoming information into the memory or knowledge structures of the interpreter.
discourse knowledgediscourse knowledge concept Iara Lessa summarizes Michel Foucault's definition of discourse as “systems of thoughts composed of ideas, attitudes, courses of action, beliefs and practices that systematically construct the subjects and the worlds of which they speak...
discourse planningdiscourse planning concept the formulation of structures, patterns, mental representations, and processes that constitute the written and spoken unit of connected speech or writing longer than a sentence.
discourse processingdiscourse processing concept is the cognitive process that investigates the structures, patterns, mental representations, and processes that underlie the written and spoken unit of connected speech or writing longer than a sentence...
discourse productiondiscourse production concept the formation of a spoken unit of connected speech or writing longer than a sentence.
dispositionsdispositions concept Tendency to act in a particular manner given a certain set of antecedents.
distractiondistraction concept Any event that interrupts a mental process.
distributed codingdistributed coding concept A type of coding in which the information that constitutes a concept (or mental representation) is spread amongst a number of constituent representations.
divergent thinkingdivergent thinking concept a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions.
divided attentiondivided attention concept A state in which the focus of attention is spread across more than one object or event.
Divided Auditory AttentionDivided Auditory Attention task During the performance of an unrelated task, subjects simultaneously respond to auditory stimuli (tone or word discrimination, with or without distractors). Also often co-coded with Tone Monitor/Discrimination.
Doors and People TestDoors and People Test task Doors and People is a test of long-term memory. It yields a single age-scaled overall score which can be ‘unpacked’ to give separate measures of visual and verbal memory, recall and recognition, and forgetting.
Dot Pattern Expectancy TaskDot Pattern Expectancy Task task No definition submitted yet.
DrawingDrawing task Subjects draw lines, circles, or drawings using a pen or stylus.
dreamdream concept a succession of thoughts, images, sounds or emotions which the mind experiences during sleep.
Dual SensitizationDual Sensitization task Heat stimuli below, at, and above pain threshold (PT; stimulation interval: 30 – 40 seconds) are applied to the skin and the participant gives continuous pain ratings on a visual analogue scale.
dual-task paradigmdual-task paradigm task NO definition submitted yet.
dual-task weather predictiondual-task weather prediction task A task in which a subject must attend and respond to two different tasks contained in one experimental run; one task is a feedback driven classification learning task in which a subject is presented with a stimuli (ex-geometric shapes) and has to classify them into one of two categories (ex-rainy or sunny weather), and then receives feedback on whether the response was correct or incorrect...
Early Social Communications ScalesEarly Social Communications Scales task No definition submitted yet.
Eating/DrinkingEating/Drinking task Subjects eat food (e.g., chocolate) or drink liquids (e.g., juice).
echoic memoryechoic memory concept refers to the phenomenon in which there is a brief mental echo that continues to sound after an auditory stimulus has been heard.
echolocationecholocation concept the general method of locating objects by determining the time for an echo to return and the direction from which it returns, as by radar or sonar.
edge detectionedge detection concept a fundamental tool in image processing and computer vision, particularly in the areas of feature detection and feature extraction, which aim at identifying points in a digital image at which the image brightness changes sharply or more formally has discontinuities.
Edinburgh Handedness InventoryEdinburgh Handedness Inventory task a measurement scale used to assess the dominance of a person's right or left hand in everyday activities. It consists of a questionnaire with 10 activities listed (writing, drawing, throwing, using scissors, using a toothbrush, using a knife without a fork, using a spoon, the upper hand when using a broom, striking a match, and opening the lid of a box)...
efficiencyefficiency concept the quality or degree of being efficient; effective operation as measured by a comparison of production with cost (as in energy, time, and money); the ratio of the useful energy delivered by a dynamic system to the energy supplied to it...
efforteffort concept Consciously or intentionally engaging cognitive resources in order to achieve a particular end.
effortful processingeffortful processing concept learning or storing (encoding) that requires attention and effort.
egocentricegocentric concept A frame of reference centered around the self. In perception, a first-person frame of reference.
elaborative processingelaborative processing concept Processing in which semantic associations or relations between words/concepts are generated or elaborated on.
elaborative rehearsalelaborative rehearsal concept a type of rehearsal proposed by Craik and Lockhart (1972) in their Levels of Processing model of memory. Elaborative rehearsal involves deep semantic processing of a to-be-remembered item resulting in the production of durable memories.
electric stimulationelectric stimulation task An electric stimulus is applied to the skin and the participant rates the perceived pain on a visual analogue scale.
Embedded Figures TestEmbedded Figures Test task In the embedded Figures Test, the research participant is shown a complex background figure and asked to describe it. After this, the participant is shown a target (such as the outline of a triangle) and asked to locate the target amid the background figure.
emotionemotion concept a complex of psychological phenomena that involve some degree of arousal and valence (positive/negative)
emotion perceptionemotion perception concept The process involving understanding feelings with different valences of oneself or of others
emotion recognitionemotion recognition concept The process of assigning an emotion to one of the discrete categories of emotion available in a particular culture.
emotional bondingemotional bonding concept A process of bringing people together based on mutually shared emotions.
emotional decision makingemotional decision making concept The use of affective information as information in a decision making process or as a basis for making a decision. Hot cognition.
emotional expressionemotional expression concept observable verbal and nonverbal behavior that communicates emotion with or without self-awareness.
emotional intelligenceemotional intelligence concept the capacity, skill or ability to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups.
emotional memoryemotional memory concept Emotional memory is the storage and recall of events and details that are couple with the physiological response that was present when the event occurred.
emotional mimicryemotional mimicry concept is the ability of a person to imitate, copy, and experience the physical and emotional characteristics of another persons emotion.
emotional recognitionemotional recognition concept The ability to identify and understand an emotion.
emotional regulation taskemotional regulation task task No definition submitted yet.
emotional suppressionemotional suppression concept An process to reduce or inhibit the impact of an emotion on ones current conscious state or behavior.
empathyempathy concept The act of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and or experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.
encodingencoding concept The process of creating a new memory trace.
Encoding TaskEncoding Task task Subjects view stimuli (words, pictures, letters) and are instructed to memorize them.
episodic bufferepisodic buffer concept A theoretical construct that is part of Alan Baddeley's working memory model and the object of which is to integrate information across sensory domains and communicate with long term memory in the service of working memory...
episodic learningepisodic learning concept a change in behavior that occurs as a result of an event; episodic learning is so named because events are recorded into episodic memory.
episodic memoryepisodic memory concept memory of autobiographical events (times, places, associated emotions, and other contextual knowledge) that can be explicitly stated.
Episodic RecallEpisodic Recall task Subjects recall items from episodic memory (autobiographical history, long-term event memories). This class is commonly used in generating a type of emotion linked to a specific memory. This class does NOT include tasks which probe semantic memory (memory of facts or concepts) in which subjects are asked to recall stimuli that were memorized prior to scanning - those are coded as Cued Explicit Recognition.
Eriksen flanker taskEriksen flanker task task A task in which participants view stimuli (typically arrows) presented one at a time and to which they must make a simple lexical response. These stimuli are surrounded by either distracting or facilitating items...
error detectionerror detection concept Processes that identify when mistakes have been made.
error signalerror signal concept An event following error detection, in which a sign is relayed notifying the advent of an error.
error trappingerror trapping concept procedures that detect and correct errors before the errors cause further confusion.
excitationexcitation concept (emotion) an increase in one's state of arousal. (neuroscience) A state of increased activity due to stimulation.
excitementexcitement concept the act of exciting; the state of being excited; aroused, augmented, or abnormal activity of an organism or functioning of an organ or part; extreme motor hyperactivity.
executive controlexecutive control concept A top-down system that manages and controls other cognitive processes, allowing goal-directed behavior.
executive functionexecutive function concept A top-down system that manages and controls other cognitive processes, allowing goal-directed behavior.
expectancyexpectancy concept A belief about something in the future. Sometimes requires explicit, conscious awareness, distinct from unconscious, conditioning-based learning.
expertiseexpertise concept Having a highly cultivated level of skill in a particular domain. Occurs after prolonged experience in a domain.
explicit knowledgeexplicit knowledge concept Knowledge that can be articulated or expressed intentionally.
explicit learningexplicit learning concept Acquisition of skills and/or knowledge actively and with awareness. Typically such learning is accompanied by meta-awareness - individuals can explain how they acquired the skill/knowledge.
explicit memoryexplicit memory concept the conscious, intentional recollection of previous experiences and information.
Extradimensional shift taskExtradimensional shift task task A task in which multiple (typically two) stimuli are presented simultaneously and the subject must select the stimulus that matches the currently relevant rule. The relevant rule alternates or "shifts" among multiple (typically two) rules...
extrinsic motivationextrinsic motivation concept motivated by external factors, as opposed to the internal drivers of intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation drives one to do things for tangible rewards or pressures.
face matching taskface matching task task
Face Monitor/DiscriminationFace Monitor/Discrimination task Subjects are presented with human faces and are instructed to view them passively or discriminate according to their order, gender, location, emotion, or appearance. If the subjects view the faces passively, then the experiment is NOT co-coded with Passive Viewing.
face n-back taskface n-back task task Task in which face stimuli are presented one at a time in a continuous stream, and the objective is to detect when the current face matches the face presented n previously (1,2, or 3 faces before).
face perceptionface perception concept The processes by which faces are identified as such.
face recognitionface recognition concept The process of determining whether a face is the same as another face that has been previously encountered.
face working memory taskface working memory task task
face-name association taskface-name association task task
facial expressionfacial expression concept Movements and positions of the facial muscles that can be used as a form of nonverbal communication, particularly in conveying emotional states.
Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine DependenceFagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence task a standard instrument for assessing the intensity of physical addiction to nicotine.
false belief taskfalse belief task task
false memoryfalse memory concept a memory that refers to an event that did not actually occur
fame judgment taskfame judgment task task
familiarityfamiliarity concept A quality of memory that is associated with a feeling of knowing that an event has previously occurred, but often not including enough contextual or episodic details sufficient for claiming actual remembering of the event.
fearfear concept A state of high negative emotional arousal triggered by an impending threat (real or imaginary) and generally associated with the flight or fight response.
feature detectionfeature detection concept a process of recognizing specific aspects of a stimulus, such as lines, edges, angle, or movement.
feature extractionfeature extraction concept Processes by which relevant aspects of a data stream are separated from irrelevant aspects.
feedbackfeedback concept Evaluative or corrective information about an action, event, or process delivered to the original or controlling source, often with the intent of modifying future actions.
figure groundfigure ground concept Segmentation of a visual space into objects and background.
figure ground relationsfigure ground relations concept refers to a cognitive ability to separate elements based upon contrast, that is, dark and light, black and white. Many times this definition is expanded from a simple perception based on contrast to include abstract (i...
figure ground reversalfigure ground reversal concept Occurs in certain visual illusions (e.g., Vases and Faces or "Rubin's Vase") in which there are multiple valid figure-ground segmentations that can be selected depending on an observer's interpretation.
figure ground segregationfigure ground segregation concept Discriminating objects from their surroundings by the visual system.
Film ViewingFilm Viewing task Subjects view movie or film clips passively or are required to make a discrimination when the clip is over.
filteringfiltering concept a device or process that removes from a signal some unwanted component or feature.
Finger Tapping TaskFinger Tapping Task task Subjects tap their fingers according to a visual, auditory, or no cue.
Fitts taskFitts task task
fixationfixation concept Maintaining gaze or attention on some object or event. (Experimental design) A trial period in which a participant is instructed to direct attention toward a visual stimulus (often a cross).
Fixation TaskFixation Task task Subjects fixate on a visual target.
fixed action patternsfixed action patterns concept an instinctive behavioral sequence that is indivisible and runs to completion.
Flashing CheckerboardFlashing Checkerboard task Subjects view a flashing checkerboard.
Flexion/ExtensionFlexion/Extension task Subjects move (flex and extend) their hands, arms, legs, feet, lips, tongue, etc.
fluid intelligencefluid intelligence concept a factor of general intelligence originally identified by Raymond Cattell; Cattell defined fluid intelligence as "…the ability to perceive relationships independent of previous specific practice or instruction concerning those relationships...
focusfocus concept The center of attention or concentration.
focused attentionfocused attention concept the ability to respond discretely to specific visual, auditory or tactile stimuli.
forgettingforgetting concept The loss of or inability to retrieve a memory.
form perceptionform perception concept the sensory discrimination of a pattern, shape or outline.
Forward digit span taskForward digit span task task A method of short-term memory measurement in which a person listens to someone say a series of single-digit numbers and must repeat them back in the same order they were given.
framingframing concept Framing is a method of biasing opinions- a framing effect occurs when the description of information, such as a speaker presenting an issue, has an emphasis on a subset of potentially


relevant considerations and causes individuals to focus on these considerations when constructing their opinions.
Free Word List RecallFree Word List Recall task Subjects view a list of words and after a delay are asked to freely recall the words presented.
frustrationfrustration concept a deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs.
functional fixednessfunctional fixedness concept a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used.
gambling taskgambling task task A class of tasks in which subjects make decisions about chance gambles.
gazegaze concept The act of fixating the eyes onto a location.
gender discrimination taskgender discrimination task task
general knowledge taskgeneral knowledge task task
generalizationgeneralization concept The act of transferring knowledge learned from one event to a novel event that is similar in some respect.
generic knowledgegeneric knowledge concept Generic knowledge is knowledge that is applicable not just to a single entity but to a class of entities.
gestaltgestalt concept a collection of physical, biological, psychological or symbolic entities that creates a unified concept, configuration or pattern which is greater than the sum of its parts (of a character, personality, or being).
Glasgow Coma ScaleGlasgow Coma Scale task is a neurological scale that aims to give a reliable, objective way of recording the conscious state of a person for initial as well as subsequent assessment. A patient is assessed against the criteria of the scale, and the resulting points give a patient score between 3 (indicating deep unconsciousness) and either 14 (original scale) or 15 (the more widely used modified or revised scale).
global-local taskglobal-local task task
Go/no-go taskGo/no-go task task A task in which stimuli are presented in a continuous stream and participants perform a binary decision on each stimulus. One of the outcomes requires participants to make a motor response (go), whereas the other requires participants to withhold a response (no-go)...
goalgoal concept The desired end-point of behavior(s).
goal formationgoal formation concept The processes that create and maintain representations of goal states.
goal maintenancegoal maintenance concept The maintenance of information regarding task goals in working memory.
goal managementgoal management concept consists of the process of recognizing or inferring goals, abandoning no longer relevant goals, identifying and resolving conflicts among goals, and prioritizing goals consistently for optimal success.
goal stategoal state concept A point reached when goal directed behavior has successfully concluded.
grammatical encodinggrammatical encoding concept the selection of semantically appropriate lexical items and the generation of a syntactic frame or surface form.

graphemegrapheme concept a unit (as a letter or digraph) of a writing system; the set of units of a writing system (as letters and letter combinations) that represent a phoneme.
graphemic buffergraphemic buffer concept a component dedicated to the temporary storage of abstract orthographic representations prior to their format-specific expression in spelling and/or reading.
Grasping TaskGrasping Task task Subjects grasped or gripped a presented stimulus with their hand or mimicked grasping one that was not physically presented (i.e., was imaginary or presented as a picture or video).
Gray Oral Reading Test - 4Gray Oral Reading Test - 4 task measures growth in oral reading and aids in the diagnosis of oral reading difficulties. Five scores provide information on oral reading skills in terms of: Rate, accuracy, fluency, comprehension, overall reading ability, and comprehension...
griefgrief concept deep and poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement.
gustationgustation concept Form of chemoreception that facilitates taste perception.
gustatory learninggustatory learning concept The formation of a knowledge representation that contains information about gustatory percepts.
gustatory memorygustatory memory concept the cognitive capacity of storing and retrieving information related to taste.
gustatory perceptiongustatory perception concept The processes involved with representing gustatory sensations as such.
habithabit concept An acquired pattern of behavior that often occurs automatically and is reliably triggered by some event or stimulus.
habit learninghabit learning concept Gaining knowledge or skill through repetitious behavior.
habit memoryhabit memory concept occurs when information is stored subconsciously, through repetition and trial-and-error learning.
hallucinationhallucination concept in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space...
happinesshappiness concept a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy.
Haptic Illusion TaskHaptic Illusion Task task No definition submitted yet.
Hayling Sentence Completion TestHayling Sentence Completion Test task Participants are given the beginnings of sentences to complete. The sentences appear to have expected answers. In the first condition, participants must complete the sentence with a/the word that makes sense...
hearinghearing concept the process, function, or power of perceiving sound; the special sense by which noises and tones are received as stimuli.
heat sensitization/adaptationheat sensitization/adaptation task A long (~ 30 seconds or more) heat stimulus is applied to the skin and the participant rates the experienced sensation continuously on a visual analogue scale
heat stimulationheat stimulation task A heat stimulus is applied to the skin and the participant rates the experienced sensation on a visual analogue scale
hedonismhedonism concept a school which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good, often used as a justification for evaluating actions in terms of how much pleasure and how little pain (i.e. suffering) they produce.
heuristic searchheuristic search concept refers to experience-based techniques for problem solving, learning, and discovery. Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a good enough solution, where an exhaustive search is impractical...
hill climbinghill climbing concept A fast but sometimes unreliable optimization method. When searching for the minimum/maximum value of a function a random step is taken; if the value improves it replaces the current value, then another random step is taken.
Hooper Visual Organization TestHooper Visual Organization Test task a neuropsychological test of visual spatial ability that presents participants with a line drawing of a common object that has been broken into fragments, and asks participants to name what the object would be if reassembled.
humiliationhumiliation concept to reduce to a lower position in one's own eyes or others' eyes.
humorhumor concept the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement.
iconic memoryiconic memory concept very brief sensory memory of some visual stimuli, that occur in the form of mental pictures.
illocutionary forceillocutionary force concept a speaker's intention in delivering an utterance.
imageabilityimageability concept is a property of a word or concept reflecting how easy or difficult it is to visually or acoustically imagine.
imageryimagery concept an experience that, on most occasions, significantly resembles the experience of perceiving some object, event, or scene, but occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present to the senses.
Imagined MovementImagined Movement task Subjects imagine performing some movement (e.g., finger tapping, reaching).
Imagined Objects/ScenesImagined Objects/Scenes task Subject generate vivid images of objects, places, concepts, hypothetical events (not in their past), or the completion of tasks.
immediate recall testimmediate recall test task involves presenting a subject with material that is to be memorized. Once the material is removed the subject is to immediately demonstrate everything that they remember from the material.

implicit knowledgeimplicit knowledge concept knowledge that is kept in a person’s mind without necessarily being expressed in words and is often acted on instinctively.
implicit memoryimplicit memory concept Type of memory in which experiences increases performance of task without one's conscious awareness of these previous experiences. This type of memory applies to habit learning, skills, conditioning.
imprintingimprinting concept a rapid learning process that takes place early in the life of a social animal and establishes a behavior pattern (as recognition of and attraction to its own kind or a substitute).
inattentioninattention concept The failure to process an external stimulus (often refers to sensory stimuli).
incidental learningincidental learning concept Learning without explicit knowledge of doing so, but occurring through interaction with the environment (e.g., by observation/copying of behavior or response to reinforcement).
incubationincubation concept (psychology) the process of thinking about a problem subconsciously while being involved in other activities; (medical) the time between being exposed to infection and showing first symptoms.
indignationindignation concept anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy, or mean.
inductioninduction concept No definition submitted yet
inductive inferenceinductive inference concept theory of prediction based on observations.
inductive reasoninginductive reasoning concept reasoning from a specific case or cases and deriving a general rule, drawing inferences from observations in order to make generalizations.
Inductive reasoning aptitudeInductive reasoning aptitude task is a measurable aptitude for how well a person can identify a pattern within a large amount of data.


inferenceinference concept the act of passing from one proposition, statement, or judgment considered as true to another whose truth is believed to follow from that of the former; the act of passing from statistical sample data to generalizations (as of the value of population parameters) usually with calculated degrees of certainty.
inhibitioninhibition concept The process by which a response (neural or behavioral) is diminished.
inhibition of returninhibition of return concept the observation that the speed and accuracy with which an object is detected are first briefly enhanced (for perhaps 100-300 milliseconds) after the object is attended, and then detection speed and accuracy are impaired (for perhaps 500-3000 milliseconds).
insightinsight concept In problem solving, the moment at which an underlying relation between cause and effect is discovered/identified.
instinctinstinct concept a natural or inherent aptitude, impulse, or capacity; a largely inheritable and unalterable tendency of an organism to make a complex and specific response to environmental stimuli without involving reason, behavior that is mediated by reactions below the conscious level.
instrumental conditioninginstrumental conditioning concept A learning process in which the consequences of an action are used to modify the likelihood that that action will reoccur.
instrumental learninginstrumental learning concept learning based on reward; a form of learning that takes place as a direct consequence of a reward or pleasant outcome for the learner.
Instrumental learning taskInstrumental learning task task A task in which a subject learns to respond through rewards.
integrationintegration concept the act or process or an instance of integrating; coordination of mental processes into a normal effective personality or with the individual's environment; the operation of finding a function whose differential is known.
intelligenceintelligence concept the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations; the skilled use of reason; the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria; the ability to perform computer functions.
intentionintention concept an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result; meaning or significance.
intentional forgettingintentional forgetting concept the purposeful forgetting of information that is no longer needed.
intentional learningintentional learning concept learning that is motivated with intention and is usually goal directed.
intentionalityintentionality concept the state of having or being formed by an intention; (philosophy) the property of being about or directed toward a subject, as inherent in conscious states, beliefs, or creations of the mind, such as sentences or books...
interferenceinterference concept the act or process of interfering, obstruction; the mutual effect on meeting of two wave trains (as of light or sound) that constitutes alternating areas of increased and decreased amplitude (as light and dark lines or louder and softer sound); partial or complete inhibition or sometimes facilitation of other genetic crossovers in the vicinity of a chromosomal locus where a preceding crossover has occurred; confusion of a received radio signal due to the presence of noise or signals from two or more transmitters on a single frequency; the disturbing effect of new learning on the performance of previously learned behavior with which it is inconsistent.
interference resolutioninterference resolution concept The process of selecting information with regard to its relevance to an ongoing task.
intermediate term memoryintermediate term memory concept a specialized term referring for information about a current task.
Intermodal Preferential Looking ParadigmIntermodal Preferential Looking Paradigm task A paradigm to test infant's comprehension about linguistic stimuli. The infants are exposed to two visual stimuli at the same time they hear an auditory stimulus corresponding to only one of the seen images ...
internal speechinternal speech concept also known as inner voice, internal speech, or verbal stream of consciousness is thinking in words. It also refers to the semi-constant internal monologue one has with oneself at a conscious or semi-conscious level...
International Affective Picture SystemInternational Affective Picture System task a database of photographs used in emotion research.
interoceptive representationinteroceptive representation concept A representation of the internal state of the body
interrogativeinterrogative concept of, pertaining to, or conveying a question.
intonationintonation concept the ability to play or sing notes in tune; manner of utterance, specifically the rise and fall in pitch of the voice in speech.
Intradimensional shift taskIntradimensional shift task task A task in which multiple (typically two) stimuli are presented simultaneously and the subject must select the stimulus that matches the currently relevant rule. The rule represents the relevant task "dimension"...
intrinsic motivationintrinsic motivation concept a highly desired form of incentive that stems from a person's internal desire for self-satisfaction or pleasure in performing the task itself.
introspectionintrospection concept the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious mental and usually purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings.
involuntary attentioninvoluntary attention concept results when the conscious mind changes focus to sudden changes in the environment (big sound, intensity of light, unique situation etc.). The person is not prepared for the attention and the attention is not under control of the individual...
Iowa Gambling TaskIowa Gambling Task task a widely used experiment in the areas of cognition & emotion that was originally developed to assist in detecting decision-making impairment in patients with prefrontal cortex damage; a computerized experiment that is carried out in real time and resembles real-world contingencies...
ironyirony concept a situation, literary technique, or rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or discordance that goes strikingly beyond the most simple and evident meaning of words or actions.
Ishihara plates for color blindnessIshihara plates for color blindness task a test for red-green color deficiencies that consists of a number of colored plates, called Ishihara plates, each of which contain a circle of dots appearing randomized in color and size. Within the pattern are dots which form a number visible to those with normal color vision and invisible, or difficult to see, for those with a red-green color vision defect.
Isometric ForceIsometric Force task Subjects use their hands or fingers to apply isometric force or complete a precision grip task.
item recognition taskitem recognition task task No definition submitted yet.
Joint AttentionJoint Attention concept the process of alerting one person to a stimulus through nonverbal cues such as finger pointing or gazing. It is one of the first signs of the development of a theory of mind in babies and serves as an important step to later language and social development.
judgmentjudgment concept a formal utterance of an authoritative opinion; the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing, an opinion or estimate so formed; a proposition stating something believed or asserted.
Kanizsa figuresKanizsa figures task An ambiguous figure in which the illusory contour of a square (or triangle) appears in the middle of four (or three) truncated solid squares (or circles). It is an illustration of the perceptual ability to make sense of an incomplete figure by creating a 'whole' image from the separate elements (Gestalt organization).
keep-track taskkeep-track task task A task in which subjects are first shown a set of categories to keep track of for a particular trial (e.g., animals, colors, and countries). They are then presented with words (including words from each category), and must remember the last word that was presented from each of the categories and recall those words at the end of the trial...
kinaesthetic representationkinaesthetic representation concept is a representation of sensory inputs from muscles, tendons, and joints (e.g.,the joint angles used to reach a point in space).

kinesthesiakinesthesia concept a sense mediated by receptors located in muscles, tendons, and joints and stimulated by bodily movements and tensions.
knowledgeknowledge concept expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject; what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information; awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.
languagelanguage concept The mental ability to encode and decode information, and translate this information into verbal, acoustic and visual representations, according to a set of rules that are common across a population.
language acquisitionlanguage acquisition concept the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate.
language comprehensionlanguage comprehension concept The ability to understand communication from others, such as speech, written text, gestures, or sign language.
language learninglanguage learning concept the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate, this capacity involves the picking up of diverse capacities including syntax, phonetics, and an extensive vocabulary, the language might be vocal as with speech or manual as in sign.
language processinglanguage processing concept the way human beings process speech or writing and understand it as language.
language productionlanguage production concept is translating a concept or set of ideas into spoken, signed or written form
lateral inhibitionlateral inhibition concept the capacity of an excited neuron to reduce the activity of its neighbors.
learninglearning concept The process of acquiring new skills/knowledge/information
lemmalemma concept a proposition proved, or sometimes assumed, to be true and used in proving a theorem; the subject of a composition, gloss, or note, esp. when used as a heading; a term glossed in a list.
Letter case judgment taskLetter case judgment task task A task in which the subject decides whether letters are uppercase or lowercase.
letter comparisonletter comparison task No definition submitted yet.
letter fluency test letter fluency test task is a test that requires generation of words cued with a specific letter and depends on phonemic abilities.
letter n-back taskletter n-back task task A task in which participants view a continuous stream of letter stimuli. The object of the task is to identify letter repetitions that occur n-trials preceding to the current stimulus.
Letter naming taskLetter naming task task Participants are presented with letters and asked to give the name for each letter as it appears or as the researcher points to it.
letter number sequencingletter number sequencing task a task that requires the reordering of an initially unordered set of letters and numbers
lexical accesslexical access concept the process by which contact is made with the lexicon on the basis of an initial acoustic-phonetic or phonological representation of some portion of the speech input, the result of lexical success is a cohort of potential word candidates which are compatible with this initial analysis.
lexical ambiguitylexical ambiguity concept the presence of two or more possible meanings within a single word.
Lexical decision taskLexical decision task task a procedure used in many psychology and psycholinguistics experiments; the basic procedure involves measuring how quickly people classify stimuli as words or nonwords. Subjects are presented, either visually or auditorily, with a mixture of words and pseudowords (nonsense strings that respect the phonotactic rules of a language, like trud in English)...
lexical encodinglexical encoding concept converting vocabulary, words, or morphemes of a language into a code.
lexical processinglexical processing concept A general term referring to the processing of single words, typically in the context of visual or auditory word recognition.
lexical retrievallexical retrieval concept No definition submitted yet
lexiconlexicon concept The vocabulary of a language, including its words and expressions.
linguistic competencelinguistic competence concept a speaker's implicit, internalized knowledge of the rules of their language.
listeninglistening concept to pay attention to sound; to hear something with thoughtful attention, give consideration; to be alert to catch an expected sound.
listening span tasklistening span task task A task in which subjects must listen to a set of sentences and remember the last word in the sentence. The number of words that can be recalled is the "listening span."
living-nonliving taskliving-nonliving task task
logiclogic concept a science that deals with the principles and criteria of validity of inference and demonstration; the science of the formal principles of reasoning.
logical reasoninglogical reasoning concept The strategy when one uses deduction, induction, or abduction to evaluate preconditions and rules to determnie a conclusion.
logical reasoning tasklogical reasoning task task A task that requires the use of logical reasoning.
logical thinkinglogical thinking concept the process in which one uses reasoning consistently to come to a conclusion.
long term memorylong term memory concept a system for permanently storing, managing, and retrieving information for later use, items of information stored as long-term memory may be available for a lifetime.
loss aversionloss aversion concept The tendency of individuals to be more sensitive to the possibility of losing objects or money than they are to the possibility of gaining the same objects or amounts of money.
lyinglying concept marked by or containing falsehoods.

a horizontal position.
MacAuthur Communicative Development InventoryMacAuthur Communicative Development Inventory task No definition submitted yet.
maintenancemaintenance concept The process of keeping information in active and immediately accessible state.
manipulationmanipulation concept to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner; to manage or utilize skillfully; to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage; to change by artful or unfair means so as to serve one's purpose.
matching familiar figures testmatching familiar figures test task No definition submitted yet.
matching pennies game matching pennies game task The game is played between two players, Player A and Player B. Each player has a penny and must secretly turn the penny to heads or tails. The players then reveal their choices simultaneously. If the pennies match (both heads or both tails), Player A receives one dollar from Player B (+1 for A, -1 for B)...
mathematical reasoningmathematical reasoning concept No definition submitted yet
Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive InventoryMaudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory task assess obsessive-compulsive symptoms in the areas of contamination fears and washing behaviors, checking, slowness, and doubting using 30 dichotomously scored (true/false) items, with each pathological response receiving a score of 1...
meaningmeaning concept the thing one intends to convey especially by language; something meant or intended; significant quality; implication of a hidden or special significance; the logical connotation of a word or phrase; the logical denotation or extension of a word or phrase.
mechanical reasoningmechanical reasoning concept No definition submitted yet
mechanical stimulationmechanical stimulation task A mechanical stimulus is applied to the skin and the participant rates the experienced sensation on a visual analogue scale.
melodymelody concept (Also tune, voice, or line), is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity.
memorymemory concept The ability of an organism to use past events to inform/influence current actions
memory acquisitionmemory acquisition concept is the process of storage and retrieval of new information in memory.
memory consolidationmemory consolidation concept a category of processes that stabilize a memory trace after the initial acquisition. Consolidation is distinguished into two specific processes, synaptic consolidation, which occurs within the first few hours after learning, and system consolidation, where hippocampus-dependent memories become independent of the hippocampus over a period of weeks to years...
memory decaymemory decay concept the loss of memory over time.
memory guided saccade taskmemory guided saccade task task
memory retrievalmemory retrieval concept 4 different processes of accessing stored memories: recall, recollection, recognition, relearning.
memory span testmemory span test task No definition submitted yet.
memory storagememory storage concept The representation of information in the brain in a form that enables potential retrieval at a later time.
memory tracememory trace concept A residual, and often decayed, neural representation of previous knowledge or experience.
mental arithmeticmental arithmetic concept mathematical calculations done mentally, without writing them down.
mental arithmetic taskmental arithmetic task task A task in which the subject performs arithmetic computations without an external means of recording their work.
mental imagerymental imagery concept is an experience that, on most occasions, significantly resembles the experience of perceiving (through any of the senses) of some object, event, or scene, but occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present to the senses.
Mental imagery taskMental imagery task task A task in which subjects create mental images
mental representationmental representation concept a presentation to the mind in the form of an idea or image.
mental rotationmental rotation concept Ability to rotate an object in one's mind; ability to make perceptual judgments on a new spatial configuration of an object.
Mental Rotation TaskMental Rotation Task task Subjects view rotated letters, numbers, or objects (2D or 3D) and indicate if they are in their normal or mirror orientation; includes variations, but all tasks include mental rotation of stimuli.
mentalizing taskmentalizing task task
metacognitionmetacognition concept awareness or analysis of one's own learning or thinking processes.
metacognitive skillmetacognitive skill concept a learners' automatic awareness of their own knowledge and their ability to understand, control, and manipulate their own cognitive processes.
MetacomprehensionMetacomprehension concept refers to the learners' ability to monitor the degree to which they understand information being communicated to them, to recognize failures to comprehend, and to employ repair strategies when failures are identified...
metamemorymetamemory concept the learners' awareness of and knowledge about their own memory systems and strategies for using their memories effectively; includes: awareness of different memory strategies, knowledge of which strategy to use for a particular memory task, and knowledge of how to use a given memory strategy most effectively.
metaphormetaphor concept a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.
MicroCogMicroCog task Overview



The first automated neuropsychological battery developed for clinical practice-fast, reliable, extremely efficient



Target specific concerns of cognitive impairment in adults with the updated MicroCog™: Assessment of Cognitive Functioning Windows® Edition (MicroCog™ for Windows®)...
Micturition TaskMicturition Task task Subjects think about voiding urine, provide urine samples, or keep a micturition diary.
Mini Mental State ExaminationMini Mental State Examination task The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) or Folstein test is a brief 30-point questionnaire test that is used to screen for cognitive impairment. It is commonly used in medicine to screen for dementia...
mirror reading taskmirror reading task task
mirror tracing testmirror tracing test task No definition submitted yet.
misattributionmisattribution concept attributing an event to something with which it has no connection or association.
mixed event-related probemixed event-related probe task When an experimental run consists of blocks of two or more related behavioral tasks. For example, a mixed event-related probe in a classification learning experiment can consist of alternating blocks of probabilistic classification trials and deterministic classification trials.
Mixed gambles taskMixed gambles task task Subjects are presented with gambles in which they have a 50% chance of gaining some amount of money and a 50% chance of losing some other amount of money. The subject decides whether or not they would accept the gamble...
Modified Erikson Scale of Communication AttitudesModified Erikson Scale of Communication Attitudes task No definition submitted yet.
Monetary incentive delay taskMonetary incentive delay task task Task in which subject makes a response within a time window and is potentially rewarded for the response depending on their reaction time.
monitoringmonitoring concept to watch, keep track of, or check usually for a special purpose.
moodmood concept a conscious state of mind or predominant emotion.
morphological processingmorphological processing concept is how the brain registers the patterns of word formation in a particular language, including inflection, derivation, and composition.
morphologymorphology concept (linguistics) the study of the structure and content of word forms; (biology) the study of the form or shape of an organism or part thereof; (materials science), the study of shape, size, texture and phase distribution of physical objects.
Morris Water MazeMorris Water Maze task No definition submitted yet.
motor controlmotor control concept The function of supervising motor activities
motor executionmotor execution concept No definition submitted yet
motor inhibitionmotor inhibition concept The process of attenuating a motor plan.
motor learningmotor learning concept the process of improving motor skills, the smoothness and accuracy of movements.
motor planningmotor planning concept is the ability of the brain to conceive, organize, and carry out a sequence of unfamiliar actions.
motor programmotor program concept a distinctive, stereotyped pattern of movement carried out by most healthy members of a species; such behaviors are species-typical but not unique to one species, many are shared by a wide variety of species.
Motor response suppressionMotor response suppression concept Active suppression of a motoric action that has already been initiated.
motor sequence learningmotor sequence learning concept Serial movement or physical action in a particular order in which a person acquires new skills or knowledge
motor sequencing taskmotor sequencing task task Participants perform several motoric tasks in a specific sequence/order.
movementmovement concept change of place or position or posture; a series of organized activities working toward an objective; the moving parts of a mechanism that transmit a definite motion.
movement planningmovement planning concept No definition submitted yet
multi-attribute decision making taskmulti-attribute decision making task task
multisensorymultisensory concept Describes any neural or behavioral process associated with multiple sensory modalities (from, Stein BE et al., (2009) Experimental brain research 198: 113-26. doi:10.1007/s00221-009-1880-8)
multisensory index (MSI)multisensory index (MSI) concept The proportionate difference between a multisensory response to a cross-modal stimulus and the unisensory response to the most effective modality-specific component stimulus (from, Stein BE et al., (2009) Experimental brain research 198: 113-26...
multisensory integrationmultisensory integration concept The neural process by which unisensory signals are combined to form a new product. It is operationally defined as a multisensory response (neural or behavioral) that is significantly different from the responses evoked by the modality-specific component stimuli (from, Stein et al...
multisensory processmultisensory process concept A general descriptor of any multisensory phenomenon, e.g., multisensory integration and cross-modal matching (from, Stein BE et al., Experimental brain research 198: 113-26. doi:10.1007/s00221-009-1880-8)
Multisource interference taskMultisource interference task task A task in which the subject must resolve multiple sources of interference.
Music Comprehension/ProductionMusic Comprehension/Production task Subjects listen to music passively or are asked to sing overtly.
n-back taskn-back task task A task in which items (e.g., letters) are presented one at a time and participants must identify each item that repeats relative to the item that occurred "n" items before its onset.
namingnaming concept to give a name to; to mention or identify by name; to decide on; to mention explicitly.
Naming (Covert)Naming (Covert) task Subjects view objects (pictures, line drawings, etc.) and name them silently.
Naming (Overt)Naming (Overt) task Subjects view objects (pictures, line drawings, etc.) and name them aloud.
narrativenarrative concept a story that is created in a constructive format (as a work of writing, speech, poetry, prose, pictures, song, motion pictures, video games, theater or dance) that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.
navigationnavigation concept The process of controlling the movement of a body/entity/vehicle through space from one point to another.
navigation tasknavigation task task A task in which the subject navigates a spatial layout.
negative priming tasknegative priming task task
neologismneologism concept is the production of nonsense word or words, usually without recognition of errors, e.g., ‘table’ becomes ‘tilto.’

nine-hole peg testnine-hole peg test task a timed test of fine motor coordination; the test involves the subject placing 9 dowels in 9 holes. Subjects are scored on the amount of time it takes to place and remove all 9 pegs.
nociceptionnociception concept the neural processes of encoding and processing noxious stimuli.
Non-choice task to study expected value and uncertaintyNon-choice task to study expected value and uncertainty task Each of 12 stimuli (circles of different colors, numbers and sizes) is associated with a different reward magnitude and probability. These include all combinations of (100 and 200) point rewards with (0, 0...
Non-Painful Electrical StimulationNon-Painful Electrical Stimulation task Subjects are electrically stimulated at a non-painful threshold.
Non-Painful Thermal StimulationNon-Painful Thermal Stimulation task Subjects experience thermal stimulation (heat) at a non-painful threshold.
nondeclarative knowledgenondeclarative knowledge concept The nonconscious or implicit ability to express and practice learned information.
nondeclarative memorynondeclarative memory concept Memory acquired through experience and which can not be consciously articulated (such as by recall or recognition). This type of memory includes priming, conditioning, skill-acquisition, and habits.
Nonword Repetition TaskNonword Repetition Task task No definition submitted yet.
novelty detectionnovelty detection concept the identification of new or unknown data or signals that a machine learning system is not aware of during training.
numerosity estimation tasknumerosity estimation task task
object alternation taskobject alternation task task No definition submitted yet.
object categorizationobject categorization concept is when a classifier can learn to automatically categorize objects of the world from a given images, in future images.
object centered representationobject centered representation concept In an object-centered representation, the position of the subparts of an object are encoded with respect to a set of axes and an origin centered on the object. Several physiological and neuropsychological results support the existence of such representations in humans and monkeys...
object detectionobject detection concept deals with detecting instances of semantic objects of a certain class (such as humans, buildings, cars, etc.).
object identificationobject identification concept No definition submitted yet
object manipulationobject manipulation concept is a form of dexterity play or performance in which one or more artists physically interact with props such as balls, hoops, rings, poi, staff, devil sticks, or clubs. Object manipulation can be considered an advanced combinatorial form of sports, dance, and games.
object n-backobject n-back task An n-back task in which the stimuli are images of visual objects.
object naming taskobject naming task task
object one-back taskobject one-back task task A one-back task in which the stimuli are images of visual objects
object orientationobject orientation concept No definition submitted yet
object perceptionobject perception concept The process of transforming basic visual sensory input (such as contrast, edge, motion, color etc) into a more abstract and semantically identifiable whole.
object recognitionobject recognition concept is the ability to perceive an object’s physical properties (such as shape, colour and texture) and apply semantic attributes to the object, which includes the understanding of its use, previous experience with the object and how it relates to others...
object working memory taskobject working memory task task
object-discrimination taskobject-discrimination task task Participants are shown pairs or sets of objects. Experimenters then try to discern whether the participant is able to discriminate between the objects. This can be done by having subjects match identical objects to each other, having certain objects become associated with rewards and measuring accuracy, or measuring time spent observing novel objects compared to time spent observing previously seen objects.
oculomotor delayed responseoculomotor delayed response task a task that requires an eye movement to be made to a cued location after a delay
odd-even taskodd-even task task
oddball taskoddball task task A task in which stimuli are presented in a continuous stream and participants must detect the presence of an oddball stimulus. The oddball is a stimulus that occurs infrequently relative to all other stimuli, and has distinct characteristics (e...
olfactionolfaction concept the sense of smell; the act or process of smelling.
Olfactory Monitor/DiscriminationOlfactory Monitor/Discrimination task Subjects are presented with odors and are instructed to smell them passively or to discriminate according to some feature (pleasant/unpleasant, strong/weak, same/different, etc.).
olfactory perceptionolfactory perception concept the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form.
operation span taskoperation span task task A task in which subjects are asked to perform a simple mathematical verification (e.g., 4/2 +1 = 3) and then read a word, with a recall test following some number of those verify/read pairs. The maximum number of words that can be recalled is the "operation span".
Orthographic DiscriminationOrthographic Discrimination task Subjects view letters and discriminate according to some feature (uppercase/lowercase, alphabetic order, same/different spelling of words, vowel/consonant, font size, etc.).
orthographic lexiconorthographic lexicon concept No definition submitted yet
orthographic taskorthographic task task A task that requires processing of letter structure
orthographyorthography concept the art of writing words with the proper letters according to standard usage; the representation of the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols; a part of language study that deals with letters and spelling...
Paced Auditory Serial Addition TestPaced Auditory Serial Addition Test task No definition submitted yet.
painpain concept An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.
pain habituationpain habituation concept A painful stimulus is perceived less painful over the time course of stimulation.
Pain Monitor/Discrimination TaskPain Monitor/Discrimination Task task Subjects experience thermal or electrical stimulation at a painful threshold.
pain sensitization pain sensitization concept A painful stimulus is perceived more painful over the time course of stimulation.
Paired Associate LearningPaired Associate Learning task was invented by Mary Whiton Calkins in 1894 and involves the pairing of two items (usually words)—a stimulus and a response. For example, words such as calendar (stimulus) and shoe (response) may be paired, and when the learner is prompted with the stimulus, he responds with the appropriate word (shoe).
Paired Associate RecallPaired Associate Recall task Subjects are shown paired stimuli prior to the task. During the task, subjects are shown a single stimuli and are asked to recall the associated pair. Stimuli may be words, faces, objects, etc.
Pantomime TaskPantomime Task task is when a subject is asked to explain an emotion or how an object is used by only gesturing with their hands and not using speech.
paraphasiaparaphasia concept generally refers to errors in naming. Collectively, this term is applied to any unintended error of word or sound choice.
parity judgment taskparity judgment task task
Parrott ScaleParrott Scale task No definition submitted yet
parsingparsing concept to resolve (as a sentence) into component parts of speech and describe them grammatically; to examine in a minute way, analyze critically.
passive attentionpassive attention concept refers to the involuntary process directed by external events that stand out from their environment, such as a bright flash, a strong odor, or a sudden loud noise.
passive avoidance taskpassive avoidance task task
Passive ListeningPassive Listening task Subjects listen to various auditory stimuli and make no response. Stimuli include speech (words, sentences), noise, tones, etc. If the stimulus is tones, then the experiment is co-coded with Tone Monitor/Discrimination.
Passive ViewingPassive Viewing task Subjects view various visual stimuli and make no response. Stimuli include houses, faces, objects, fractals, letter strings, line drawings, complex scenes, etc. If the presented stimuli were faces, the experiments are co-coded with Face Monitor/Discrimination...
past tensepast tense concept refers to a form of a verb that indicates that the action already has occurred
pattern comparisonpattern comparison task No definition submitted yet.
pattern recognitionpattern recognition concept The process of identifying a meaningful pattern in raw data.
pavlovian conditioningpavlovian conditioning concept a form of learning in which either (1) a given stimulus (or signal) becomes increasingly effective in evoking a response or (2) a response occurs with increasing regularity in a well-specified and stable environment...
perceptionperception concept the conscious experience or mental registration of a sensory stimulus
perceptual bindingperceptual binding concept is the cognitive ability to couple characteristics between items that one is perceiving. This can be illustrated by the one observing a blue square and a yellow circle. Through the neural mechanisms of perceptual binding, one can ensure that the sensing of blue is coupled to that of a square shape and that of yellow is coupled to that of a circle...
perceptual categorizationperceptual categorization concept A selective system that can have no a priori information about the particular stimuli that might be encountered in its environment, other than boundary conditions implicit in the construction of its recognizing elements...
perceptual fluencyperceptual fluency concept is the ease at which the brain can process information.
perceptual identificationperceptual identification concept has two different processing stages. The first stage yields a state of of perceptual information about the stimulus presented. The second stage is the processing of attained perceptual information in a response...
perceptual learningperceptual learning concept long lasting improvement in performing perceptual (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory or taste) tasks as a function of experience.
perceptual similarityperceptual similarity concept Perceptual similarity is the subjective similarity between two stimuli as perceived by the observer. Thus, object A may be rated as more similar to object B than to object C despite a greater difference in some physical metric (such as height or width) between objects A and C than between objects A and B...
perceptual skillperceptual skill concept The ability to observe and understand the events surrounding an individual.
performance monitoringperformance monitoring concept No definition submitted yet
Phasic pain stimulationPhasic pain stimulation task A short pain stimulus (usually up to 3 seconds) is applied to the skin and the participant rates the stimulus on a visual analogue scale. Pain can be induced with thermal (hot/cold), electrical or mechanical stimuli.
phonationphonation concept process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration; any oscillatory state of any part of the larynx that modifies the airstream.
phoneme detection taskphoneme detection task task
phonemic fluency taskphonemic fluency task task
phonemic paraphasiaphonemic paraphasia concept is the production of unintended sounds or syllables in the utterance of partially recognizable word, e.g., ‘paker’ for ‘paper.’
phonetic discrimination taskphonetic discrimination task task A task in which the subject discriminates stimuli based on phonetic features.
phoneticsphonetics concept the system of speech sounds of a language or group of languages; the study and systematic classification of the sounds made in spoken utterance.
phonological bufferphonological buffer concept a passive storage device that is part of the articulatory rehearsal loop; serves as a part of the mechanisms ordinarily needed for hearing. In rehearsal, the buffer is loaded by means of subvocalization.
phonological codephonological code concept No definition submitted yet
Phonological DiscriminationPhonological Discrimination task Subjects view or listen to phonemes, syllables, or words and discriminate according to some feature of their sounds (rhyming, number of syllables, homophones, etc.).
phonological encodingphonological encoding concept involves retrieval of segmental and supra-segmental information and the generation of a syllabified phonological word, and the computation of the phonetic form of the intended utterance, referred to as phonetic encoding...
phonological loopphonological loop concept deals with sound or phonological information and consists of two parts: a short-term phonological store with auditory memory traces that are subject to rapid decay and an articulatory rehearsal component that can revive the memory traces...
phonological retrievalphonological retrieval concept No definition submitted yet
phonological taskphonological task task Any task that requires the subject to process the sound structure of words.
phonological working memoryphonological working memory concept The process of maintaining sound information online for a limited amount of time.
picture naming taskpicture naming task task participants are shown pictures of objects and asked to identify the item.
Picture Set TestPicture Set Test task No definition submitted yet.
Picture-word Stroop taskPicture-word Stroop task task No definition submitted yet.
Pitch Monitor/DiscriminationPitch Monitor/Discrimination task Subjects are presented with various stimuli (human speech and non-speech vocalizations, animal vocalization, mechanical noise, etc.) and are instructed to listen to them passively (also co-coded with Passive Listening), or discriminate based on pitch (pleasant/unpleasant, same/different, duration, familiar/unfamiliar, male/female).
planningplanning concept the act or process of making or carrying out plans; the establishment of goals, policies, and procedures for a social or economic unit.
PointingPointing task Subjects look and point at a target (e.g., cursor with their arm, hand, finger, or shoulder.
Porteus maze testPorteus maze test task No definition submitted yet.
Positive and Negative Affect ScalePositive and Negative Affect Scale task A psychometric scale to measure positive and negative affects in individuals, and both as states and traits. Positive affect questions assess to what extent the participant is attentive, interested, alert, excited, enthusiastic, inspired, proud, determined, strong and active...
Posner cueing taskPosner cueing task task Subjects view two stimuli (boxes, letters, etc.) and are cued by an arrow to attend to one of the stimuli. Subjects then discriminate and respond (e.g., press a button when one of the boxes is filled with a diagonal cross, or press the left button for an "X" and the right button for an "O")...
pragmatic inferencepragmatic inference concept Inferences are made when a person (or machine) goes beyond available evidence to form a conclusion. A pragmatic inference (also known as an inductive inference) is one which is likely to be true because of the state of the world...
pragmatic knowledgepragmatic knowledge concept is how individuals communicate meaning and how they produce contextually appropriate utterances, sentences, or texts. Pragmatic knowledge includes sociolinguistic and functional knowledge.
pragmatic reasoningpragmatic reasoning concept Pragmatic reasoning is defined as the process of finding the intended meaning(s) of the given, and it is suggested that this amounts to the process of inferring the appropriate context(s) in which to interpret the given.
preattentive processingpreattentive processing concept background activity that necessarily precedes conscious mental activity; major purpose is the preparation of sensory input for use in focal-attentive processes including encoding of the basic properties of sensory input.
preconscious perceptionpreconscious perception concept is the subthreshold process of visual perception.

precueingprecueing concept is a task that attracts spatial attention to a target location, by presenting an abrupt onset cue next to the target location prior to its onset.
prejudiceprejudice concept preconceived judgment or opinion; an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge; an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics.
primary memoryprimary memory concept the temporary maintenance system for conscious processing of information.
primingpriming concept Priming is the effect of prior exposure to a somehow (e.g. perceptually or semantically) related stimulus on the response to a subsequent stimulus. This effect may be positive and facilitatory (e.g. naming of an object is typically faster when that object has already been recently named) or negative and detrimental (e...
proactive inhibitionproactive inhibition concept the forgetting of information due to interference from the traces of events or learning that occurred prior to the materials to be remembered; occurs when in any given context, past memories inhibit an individual’s full potential to retain new memories.
proactive interferenceproactive interference concept No definition submitted yet
Probabilistic classification taskProbabilistic classification task task Subjects are presented with a set of stimuli and must classify those stimuli into one of two categories. In a common version known as the "weather prediction task" the stimuli are cards with geometric shapes on them and the outcomes are rainy versus sunny weather...
Probabilistic gambling taskProbabilistic gambling task task Two cards are drawn without replacement from a deck containing cards numbered from one to ten (one of each). After the first card is presented, participants bet whether the next card will be higher or lower than the first card...
probabilistic reversal learningprobabilistic reversal learning task No definition submitted yet.
problem solvingproblem solving concept Broadly, the mental processes involved in finding a solution to a problem.
problem solving taskproblem solving task task A task in which subjects must solve a conceptual problem.
procedural knowledgeprocedural knowledge concept Knowledge exercised in the performance of a task/activity. Its acquisition or structure is often unavailable to the actor.
procedural learningprocedural learning concept A non-verbal process of knowledge acquisition.
procedural memoryprocedural memory concept memory for how to do things; procedural memories are automatically retrieved and utilized for the execution of the step-by-step procedures involved in both cognitive and motor skills.
procedural ruleprocedural rule concept No definition submitted yet
processing capacityprocessing capacity concept No definition submitted yet
processing stageprocessing stage concept A subset of mental operations that are confined some feature space of information within a stream and/or hierarchy of mental operations.
pronunciationpronunciation concept the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word.
proper nounproper noun concept A subject that usually indicates a particular person, place, or object.
proprioceptionproprioception concept the sense of the relative position of neighboring parts of the body.
prosodic stressprosodic stress concept the stress and intonation patterns of an utterance.
prosodyprosody concept the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech.
prospective memoryprospective memory concept remembering to perform an intended action...prospective memory is self-initiated and does not operate directly on external stimuli.
prospective memory taskprospective memory task task
prospective planningprospective planning concept No definition submitted yet
prototypeprototype concept A most common, standard or basic mental representation of some category.
prototype distortion taskprototype distortion task task
Pseudoword naming taskPseudoword naming task task Participants are presented (usually one at a time, rather than in list form) with words and pseudowords, which are strings of letters that have no meaning in the language but are still pronounceable and asked to read aloud what they see...
Pursuit Rotor TaskPursuit Rotor Task task The pursuit rotor task is a task used in common use in the mid 20th century which involved a participant trying to follow (pursue) a small disc on a rotating turntable. Original mechanical versions had typical rotation rates of 60 RPM, which is probably too fast for mouse-controlled versions...
pyramids and palm trees taskpyramids and palm trees task task a semantic memory test that presents one word or picture above two others. The participant is then asked to identify which of the bottom items best matches the top item. Semantic memory is necessary for the identification of the analogies, which link conceptually two perceptually, and functionally distinct entities.
quantitative skillquantitative skill concept is the ability to to use mathematical concepts to solve problems.
random number generation taskrandom number generation task task A task in which the subject generates a series of random numbers.
random-dot motion taskrandom-dot motion task task
Rapid Automatized Naming TestRapid Automatized Naming Test task "Participants are required to name, as rapidly as possible, items presented visually on a chart. Each chart contains five rows of 10 stimuli from a category of five items. Categories include colors, lowercase letters, digits, and common objects...
Rapid Serial Object TransformationRapid Serial Object Transformation task A task where two sets of differently colored superimposed patterns of dots rotate in opposite directions. The participant is asked to pay attention to on set of dots. One of the sets of dots will then move across the screen and the participant must say which direction the dots are moving...
rapid serial visual presentation taskrapid serial visual presentation task task
Raven's Advanced Progressive MatricesRaven's Advanced Progressive Matrices task
readingreading concept Decoding symbols to derive their meaning.
Reading (Covert)Reading (Covert) task Subjects view words, pseudo-words, Asian characters, phrases, or sentences and read them silently.
Reading (Overt)Reading (Overt) task Subjects view words, pseudo-words, Asian characters, phrases, or sentences and read them aloud.
reading span taskreading span task task A task that requires participants to read series of unconnected sentences aloud and to remember the final word of each sentence of a series (grouped according to the total number of sentences). With each sentence presented on a card, participants were cued to recall the memorized end-of-sentence words in their original order by a blank card at the end of a series...
reappraisal taskreappraisal task task
reasoningreasoning concept drawing of inferences or conclusions through the use of reason.
recallrecall concept The process of retrieving previously stored information, done without the aid of external cues.
recall testrecall test task A test in which the subject is asked to produce a list of previously studied items.
recency judgment taskrecency judgment task task
Recitation/Repetition (Covert)Recitation/Repetition (Covert) task Subjects silently repeat or recite phonemes, words, or well-known text (nursery rhymes, Pledge of Allegiance, months of the year, etc.).
Recitation/Repetition (Overt)Recitation/Repetition (Overt) task Subjects repeat or recite phonemes, words, or well-known text (nursery rhymes, Pledge of Allegiance, months of the year, etc.) aloud.
recognitionrecognition concept a memory test that involves picking out (or recognizing) a studied item from a list of possible items
recognition memory testrecognition memory test task In a recognition memory test, a participant is presented with some or all of a set of "old" stimuli that were encoded earlier, as well as several "new" stimuli that were not previously presented...
reconsolidationreconsolidation concept the process of previously consolidated memories being recalled and actively consolidated, it is a distinct process that serves to maintain, strengthen and modify memories that are already stored in the long-term memory.
regretregret concept an emotional response to remembrance of a past state, condition, or experience that one wishes had been different
rehearsalrehearsal concept something recounted or told again; a practice exercise. The repetition of information in an attempt to maintain it longer in memory.
rehearsal looprehearsal loop concept or phonological loop, also called the phonetic loop or the articulatory loop, is the part of working memory that rehearses verbal information. It consists of two parts: a short-term phonological store with auditory memory traces that are subject to rapid decay and an articulatory rehearsal component that can revive the memory traces...
relational learningrelational learning concept learning to differentiate among stimuli on the basis of relational properties (e.g., the larger of two stimuli) rather than absolute properties (e.g., the stimulus that has a given size).
relational reasoning taskrelational reasoning task task
remember/know taskremember/know task task No definition submitted yet.
rememberingremembering concept the process of consciously reviving or bringing to awareness previous events, experiences, or information. Remembering also involves the process of retaining such material, which is essential to learning...
remote memoryremote memory concept memory for events of long ago as opposed to recent events.
repressed memoryrepressed memory concept A memory (often traumatic) that is unavailable for recall.
resource limitresource limit concept the maximum amount of brain resources that can be allocated to various, often competing cognitive processes
resource sharingresource sharing concept is a unique characteristic of humans and several primates that involve sharing resources such as food, shelter, etc., as a collective risk-reduction against variability in resource supply.
response inhibitionresponse inhibition concept Suppression of actions that are inappropriate in a given context and that interfere with goal-driven behavior.
Response Mapping TaskResponse Mapping Task task No definition submitted yet.
response selectionresponse selection concept The selection of one action from a set of possible actions.
RestRest task Subjects rest passively with their eyes open or closed. Often used as a baseline for comparison for other tasks.
retentionretention concept a preservation of the aftereffects of experience and learning that makes recall or recognition possible.

Persistence of learned behavior or experience during a period when it is not being performed o r practiced...
retrievalretrieval concept The process of accessing information from memory or other storage devices; the possibility of recovery, restoration, or rectification.

Retrieval is the third stage of memory after encoding and retention.
retrieval cueretrieval cue concept An event or experience that facilitates retrieval of information from long-term memory because of its association to that information.
retrieval-induced forgetting taskretrieval-induced forgetting task task No definition submitted yet.
retroactive interferenceretroactive interference concept impeded retrieval and performance of previously learnt information due to newly acquired and practiced information.
reversal learning taskreversal learning task task "Reversal learning involves the adaptation of behavior according to changes in stimulus–reward contingencies [...] [Reversal learning]is exemplified by visual discrimination tasks where subjects must learn to respond according to the opposite, previously irrelevant, stimulus–reward pairing...
rewardreward concept A positive return for performance of a specific behavior.
Reward TaskReward Task task Disambiguation
Reward Task ()Reward Task () concept Subjects perform a task in which correct performance is associated with reward, often monetary reward.
Reward Task (reward response)Reward Task (reward response) concept Subjects are given an option of an action that dispenses rewards and the extent to which they select this action is measured.
Rey Auditory Verbal Learning TaskRey Auditory Verbal Learning Task task No definition submitted yet.
Rey-Ostereith Complex Figure TestRey-Ostereith Complex Figure Test task No definition submitted yet.
Reynell Developmental Language ScalesReynell Developmental Language Scales task No definition submitted yet.
Rhyme verification taskRhyme verification task task Stimuli are presented in pairs (either words or pseudowords) and the subject is asked to judge whether the pair of stimuli rhyme with one another.
rhythmrhythm concept Movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions. While rhythm most commonly applies to sound, such as music and spoken language, it may also refer to visual presentation, as timed movement through space.
riskrisk concept the probability or likelihood that an event will occur; possibility of loss or injury; someone or something that creates or suggests a hazard; the chance that an investment will lose value.
risk seekingrisk seeking concept The willingness of an individual to choose an option with a less-than-certain probability of reward over an option with a certain reward of equal or higher expected value.
Risky Gains taskRisky Gains task task Subjects are presented with a sequence of three numbers in ascending order (20, 40, and 80). Each number is displayed onscreen for one second and, if the subject presses a button while that number is displayed, he/she receives that number of points along with immediate positive visual and auditory feedback...
Rivermead Behavioural Memory TestRivermead Behavioural Memory Test task comprises a number of subtests focused on providing objective measures of everyday memory performance in people with observed and/or reported memory difficulties.
route knowledgeroute knowledge concept is represented as a series of directions to follow to get from one place to another.
routineroutine concept a regular course of procedure; habitual or mechanical performance of an established procedure; a reiterated speech or formula; a sequence of computer instructions for performing a particular task.
Rubber Hand IllusionRubber Hand Illusion task One hand is occluded from sight and an artificial hand is lying in front of the participant. Synchronious paint brush strokes are applied to the same fingers of the occluded hand and the artificial hand...
rulerule concept a prescribed guide for conduct or action; an accepted procedure, custom, or habit; a usually valid generalization; a determinate method for performing a mathematical operation and obtaining a certain result; the exercise of authority or control.
rule learningrule learning concept process in which a participant gradually acquires knowledge about a fixed but unstated standard that defines, for example, the acceptability of a response or membership of category
sadnesssadness concept an emotion characterized by feelings of unhappiness, disadvantage, loss, and helplessness.
saliencesalience concept a parameter of a stimulus that indexes its effectiveness.
Salthouse and Babcock Listening Span task Salthouse and Babcock Listening Span task task Participants listen to an experimenter read a set of sentences. The participant must simultaneously respond to comprehension questions, and record or remember the last word of each sentence. The measure of "listening span" is then the number of correct words recalled.
Same-Different TaskSame-Different Task task A task which assesses shifting attention. In the computerized version of this task, three spaceships appear on a screen and the participant must determine if the spaceships are all different or all the same...
scene recognition taskscene recognition task task No definition submitted yet.
schemaschema concept a diagrammatic presentation; broadly; a structured framework or plan; a mental codification of experience that includes a particular organized way of perceiving cognitively and responding to a complex situation or set of stimuli.
searchsearch concept to look into or over carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something; to look through or explore by inspecting possible places of concealment or investigating suspicious circumstances; to look at as if to discover or penetrate intention or nature; to uncover, find, or come to know by inquiry or scrutiny.
selective attentionselective attention concept When multiple external sensory inputs are present, the process of dedicating cognitive and perceptual resources to one type/set of input and attenuating receptiveness to other inputs.
selective attention taskselective attention task task involves a participant to attend to a specific stimuli in the presence of competing stimuli.
selective stop signal taskselective stop signal task task A version of the stop signal task where inhibition is contingent upon both the presence of the stop signal and the particular stimulus.
self monitoringself monitoring concept measurement of one's own behavior.
Self-controlSelf-control concept The effortful control of behaviors, thoughts, or emotions with the aim of increasing the likelihood of attaining long-term over short-term outcomes.
self-ordered pointing taskself-ordered pointing task task A task in which a set of stimuli is presented, and subjects must point to one stimulus at a time, without ever pointing at the same stimulus twice.
Self-RegulationSelf-Regulation concept the control of one's own behavior through self-monitoring of the conditions that evoke desired and undesired behavior, structuring the personal environment to facilitate desired behavior and circumvent situations that tend to elicit undesired behavior.
semantic anomaly judgement tasksemantic anomaly judgement task task Participants read or listen to sentences, then judge whether the sentence is plausible and makes sense semantically, or is implausible. Sentences may be structurally and gramatically correct, but the verb and noun are incompatible...
semantic association tasksemantic association task task Participants are shown pairs of words or pictures and asked to identify if the items are semantically related.
semantic categorysemantic category concept is a grouping of vocabulary within a language, organizing words which are interrelated and define each other in various ways. Also referred to as a semantic field.

semantic classification tasksemantic classification task task A task in which the subject classifies stimuli based on meaning
semantic decision tasksemantic decision task task A task in which a subject makes a decision about the meaning of a stimulus.
semantic fluency tasksemantic fluency task task
semantic informationsemantic information concept information that is not tied to any specific object, event, domain, or application. It includes general factual information about the world (as in an encyclopedia) and oneself.
semantic knowledgesemantic knowledge concept long-established knowledge about objects, facts, and word meanings.
semantic memorysemantic memory concept refers to one's conceptual knowledge and includes the meanings of words, factual information about the world, and other information not related to specific events or episodes
semantic memory tasksemantic memory task task A task requiring the subject to use knowledge retrieved from semantic memory.
semantic processingsemantic processing concept refers to the cognitive processing of the memory of meanings, understandings, and other concept-based knowledge unrelated to specific experiences.
semantic relatedness tasksemantic relatedness task task A task in which subjects judge whether a set of stimuli are related by meaning.
semantic tasksemantic task task Any task that requires subjects to process the meaning of stimuli
semantic working memorysemantic working memory concept Working memory for meaning
Sense of body ownershipSense of body ownership concept The feeling that something is part of one's own body.
Sense of ownershipSense of ownership concept The feeling that something is part of one self.
sensory memorysensory memory concept brief storage of sensory information in each of the senses, which temporarily holds material (e.g., a perceptual experience) for recoding into another memory (such as short-term memory) or for comprehension.
sentence completion testsentence completion test task a test that provides respondents with beginnings of sentences, referred to as “stems,” and respondents then complete the sentences in ways that are meaningful to them. The responses are believed to provide indications of attitudes, beliefs, motivations, or other mental states...
sentence comprehensionsentence comprehension concept takes place whenever a reader or listener processes a language utterance, either in isolation or in the context of a conversation or a text.
sentence comprehension tasksentence comprehension task task
sentence processingsentence processing concept takes place whenever a reader or listener cognitively processes a language utterance, either in isolation or in the context of a conversation or a text.
sentence productionsentence production concept No definition submitted yet
sequence learningsequence learning concept learning of a sequence of items or responses in the precise order of their presentation.
Sequence Recall/LearningSequence Recall/Learning task Subjects learn and/or perform a complex sequence of finger tapping, button pressing, pointing/clicking, or various other motor responses.
sequential shape matchingsequential shape matching task Participants are shown an object for a fixed period. After an interstimulus interval, typically with no intervening object presentations, a second object is presented. The second object is either the same or a different object...
serial learningserial learning concept The process of acquiring information in sequence and following an order that must be preserved at recall.
serial processingserial processing concept information processing in which only one sequence of processing operations is carried on at a time.
serial reaction time taskserial reaction time task task
serial searchserial search concept The process of identifying a target within a set of candidate elements by testing the identity of each element against the identity of the sought after target one at a time.
set shiftingset shifting concept The process of changing ones behavioral objective.
Set-shifting taskSet-shifting task task A task in which participants alternate between two or more judgments typically regarding the same set of stimuli. Accuracy and reaction time are measured for each judgment.
shadowingshadowing concept speech shadowing is an experimental technique, used in psycholinguistics, in which subjects repeat speech immediately after hearing it (usually through earphones).

shadowing taskshadowing task task
shallow processingshallow processing concept a mode of thinking in which one pays attention only to appearances and other superficial aspects of the material, typically leading to poor memory retention.
shameshame concept a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety; a condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute; something that brings censure or reproach.
short term memoryshort term memory concept A limited-capacity and short-lasting representation of information in the mind. The duration of short-term memory is on the order of seconds, while its capacity is on the order of 4 to 9 independent items.
short-term memory taskshort-term memory task task
Simon taskSimon task task Subjects view arrows presented in the right or left visual field that were pointing to the left or right. Subjects respond via button press as to the direction of the arrow. In incongruent stimuli, left-pointing arrows are seen on the right side, and vice versa...
simple reaction time tasksimple reaction time task task task that assesses the ability of the subject to respond to an external cue and retrieve a reward.
single-task weather prediction single-task weather prediction task is a feedback driven classification learning task in which a subject is presented with a stimuli (ex-geometric shapes) and has to classify them into one of two categories (ex-rainy or sunny weather), and then receives feedback on if the response was correct or incorrect...
skepticismskepticism concept an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object.
skillskill concept Proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training or experience.
skill acquisitionskill acquisition concept The process of learning to perform a task or set of tasks with increasing facility. Typically implies the formation of procedural (as distinct from semantic or episodic) memories.
skill learningskill learning concept learning to perform a task with proficiency, as defined by ease, speed, and accuracy of performance, acquired through a high degree of practice.
social cognitionsocial cognition concept the encoding, storage, retrieval, and processing, in the brain, of information relating to conspecifics, or members of the same species.
social contextsocial context concept the identical or similar social positions and social roles as a whole that influence the individuals of a group.
social intelligencesocial intelligence concept the ability to function successfully in interpersonal situations.
social judgment tasksocial judgment task task
somatosensationsomatosensation concept the components of the central and peripheral nervous systems that receive and interpret sensory information from organs in the joints, ligaments, muscles, and skin. This system processes information about the length, degree of stretch, tension, and contraction of muscles; pain; temperature; pressure; and joint position.
somatosensory perceptionsomatosensory perception concept the act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses relating to the perception and proprioception of sensory stimuli from the skin and internal organs.
source memorysource memory concept the episodic source from which a specific item was acquired (e.g., from a person, a book, or television (Schacter, Kaszniak, Kihlstrom, & Valdiserri, 1991, p. 559).
source memory testsource memory test task Participants are shown a list or series of items (words, pictures, objects). Later, when shown an item, they are asked whether it has was shown to them before, and if they respond affirmatively, they are asked a question about the source of the item...
source monitoringsource monitoring concept The process of identifying the the source or context at acquisition of information that has been stored in memory.
Span/Supra-Span TestSpan/Supra-Span Test task Participants are given sequences to recall that exceed their working memory span, usually by about 2 items, however the sequence contains a smaller repeating sequence(s) among the non-repeating items.
spatial abilityspatial ability concept skill in perceiving the visual world, transforming and modifying initial perceptions, and mentally recreating spatial aspects of one's visual experience without the relevant stimuli.
spatial attentionspatial attention concept The allocation or prioritization of mental resources based on spatial coordinates (with respect to the body, head etc).
spatial cognitionspatial cognition concept the acquisition, organization, utilization, and revision of knowledge about spatial environments.
spatial cueingspatial cueing concept In a typical Spatial Cueing experiment, performed on a computer in the following example, the participant is cued with the likely spatial location of a target stimulus and then asked to respond as quickly as possible when the target stimulus appears in any location on screen.
spatial delayed response taskspatial delayed response task task No definition submitted yet.
spatial memoryspatial memory concept the part of memory responsible for recording information about one's environment and its spatial orientation.
spatial n-back taskspatial n-back task task Participants view a configuration of dots and must indicate whether the dot is in the same position as the dot in the picture presented n previously (0,1,2,or 3). In some variations, participants are asked to identify the location of the dot n pictures back, rather than indicating if the current dot matches.
spatial span testspatial span test task No definition submitted yet.
spatial working memoryspatial working memory concept The ability to maintain online information that relates to space. This process has limited capacity and its contents are not stored permanently.
spatial working memory taskspatial working memory task task
Spatial/Location DiscriminationSpatial/Location Discrimination task Subjects view shapes or other stimuli (letters, pictures, numbers, or arrows) and discriminate according to their location, orientation, or size.
speech perceptionspeech perception concept the process by which the sounds of language are heard, interpreted and understood.
speech processingspeech processing concept the study of speech signals and the processing methods of these signals.
speech productionspeech production concept is the process by which spoken words are selected to be produced, have their phonetics formulated and then finally are articulated by the motor system in the vocal apparatus. Speech production can be spontaneous such as when a person creates the words of a conversation, reaction such as when they name a picture or read aloud a written word, or a vocal imitation such as in speech repetition...
spelling taskspelling task task A task in which subjects are asked to spell words.
Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety QuestionnaireSpielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Questionnaire task instrument used to measure trait (chronic) anxiety, a general propensity to be anxious, and state (temporary) anxiety, a temporary state varying in intensity, in adults.
spreading activationspreading activation concept a method for searching associative networks, neural networks, or semantic networks; the search process is initiated by labeling a set of source nodes (e.g. concepts in a semantic network) with weights or "activation" and then iteratively propagating or "spreading" that activation out to other nodes linked to the source nodes.
stereopsisstereopsis concept the process in visual perception leading to the sensation of depth from the two slightly different projections of the world onto the retinas of the two eyes.
stereotypesstereotypes concept something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment.
Sternberg delayed recognition taskSternberg delayed recognition task task Subjects view a string of letters. After a delay, a probe letter is presented and subjects indicate if the presented letter was in the previously viewed group.
Stockings of Cambridge TaskStockings of Cambridge Task task No definition submitted yet.
stop signal taskstop signal task task A task in which an external stimulus signals the participant to interrupt an already-initiated motor response.
stop-change taskstop-change task task A task in which the subject makes a discriminative response by default, but makes a different response upon presentation of a stop signal.
strategic learningstrategic learning concept The strategy through which learners adapt their learning style in order to fit with the needs of the task.
strategystrategy concept A plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal.
stressstress concept refers to the consequence of the failure of an organism – human or animal – to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats, whether actual or imagined.
Stroop taskStroop task task Subjects view color names presented in various ink colors and are instructed to name the color of the ink. In incongruent stimuli, color names and ink colors are non-matching.
Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) Axis I DisorderStructured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) Axis I Disorder task a diagnostic exam used to determine DSM-IV Axis I disorders (mental health disorders). It covers 6 diagnostic categories, and is often used in conjunction with an unstructured interview. The exam includes an administration booklet of questions for the examiner to ask and a scoresheet...
subconscioussubconscious concept Subconscious is any neural activity which has the potential to be conscious, but at the moment is processed below the level of consciousness.



In contrast to unconscious information processing, subconscious processing contains meaning (semantic information)...
Subjective Emotional Picture DiscriminationSubjective Emotional Picture Discrimination task Subjects view pictures and are instructed to respond to emotional pictures, to indicate which pictures are pleasant/unpleasant or funny/not funny, or rate the valence of emotional pictures.
sublexical routesublexical route concept is a theoretical component of Coltheart's dual-route reading model that refers to using spelling-to-sound correspondences to convert a written word (i.e. orthography) into a spoken word (i.e. phonology)...
subliminal perceptionsubliminal perception concept a visual or auditory message that is allegedly perceived psychologically, but not consciously;
occurs when a stimulus is too weak to be perceived yet a person is influenced by it.
subordinatesubordinate concept placed in or occupying a lower class, rank, or position; inferior; submissive to or controlled by authority.
supervisory attentional systemsupervisory attentional system concept a loosely defined collection of brain processes that are responsible for planning, cognitive flexibility, abstract thinking, rule acquisition, initiating appropriate actions and inhibiting inappropriate actions, and selecting relevant sensory information.
surprisesurprise concept a brief emotional state that is the result of experiencing an unexpected relevant event.
sustained attentionsustained attention concept the ability to maintain a consistent behavioral response during continuous and repetitive activity.
sustained attention to response tasksustained attention to response task task No definition submitted yet.
switch taskswitch task task A paradigm requiring subjects to switch between performing multiple different individual tasks.
symbol-digit substitutionsymbol-digit substitution task DSST is a neuropsychological test sensitive to brain damage, dementia, age and depression. It isn’t sensitive to the location of brain-damage (except for damage comprising part of the visual field). It consists of (e...
Symptom Checklist-90-Revised Symptom Checklist-90-Revised task a relatively brief self-report psychometric instrument designed to evaluate a broad range of psychological problems and symptoms of psychopathology. It is also useful in measuring the progress and outcome of psychiatric and psychological treatments or for research purposes.
synchrony judgment tasksynchrony judgment task task Participants decide whether the unimodal cues to a crossmodal event (stimulus) were in temporal synchrony or not, i.e., whether they were "in synch" or "out of synch".
synchrony perceptionsynchrony perception concept the process of perceiving whether or not the crossmodal cues (e.g., audio and visual) to an event (e.g., audiovisual speech) are in temporal synchrony with each other.
syntactic acceptability judgement tasksyntactic acceptability judgement task task Also called the syntactic plausibility judgment task, this task asks participants to read sentences and indicate whether or not they are gramatically correct.
Syntactic DiscriminationSyntactic Discrimination task Subjects viewed grammatically correct and incorrect sentences and discriminate according to their grammar. This class also includes morphosyntactic tasks such as gender discrimination of words.
syntactic parsingsyntactic parsing concept the way that human beings, rather than computers, analyze a sentence or phrase (in spoken language or text) in terms of grammatical constituents, identifying the parts of speech, syntactic relations, etc.
syntactic processingsyntactic processing concept processing of the structural and grammatical aspects of language
syntactic tasksyntactic task task A class of tasks involving the processing of linguistic syntax.
syntaxsyntax concept the way in which linguistic elements (as words) are put together to form constituents (as phrases or clauses); a connected or orderly system, harmonious arrangement of parts or elements.
Tactile Monitor/DiscriminationTactile Monitor/Discrimination task Subjects experience tactile/somatosensory stimulation and are asked to attend passively or discriminate according to some feature (shape, texture, same/different, frequency of presentation, etc.) Also includes: subjects are presented with 3-dimensional objects and are asked to manipulate them in their hands and probe their features.
tactile working memorytactile working memory concept working memory for tactile information
target detection tasktarget detection task task
task settask set concept The set of rules and/or stimulus-response mappings that define how a task should be performed.
Task set reconfigurationTask set reconfiguration concept A change in the task set based on some internal or external cue
task switchingtask switching concept The process of switching from one task or goal to another, depending on the context or instructions.
task-switching task-switching task A task in which participants alternate between two or more judgments typically regarding the same set of stimuli. Accuracy and reaction time are measured for each judgment.
taste aversiontaste aversion concept occurs when the taste of a certain food is associated with symptoms caused by a toxic, spoiled, or poisonous substance; generally caused after ingestion of the food causes nausea, sickness, or vomiting...
Temporal discounting taskTemporal discounting task task refers to the tendency of people to discount rewards as they approach a temporal horizon in the future or the past (i.e., become so distant in time that they cease to be valuable or to have additive effects)...
temporal order judgment tasktemporal order judgment task task Participants decide which of two (or more) unimodal cues (e.g. audio or video) was presented first (or sometimes second) in a crossmodal stimulus. Alternatively, unimodal (auditory, visual or tactile) temporal order judgments generally involve deciding which of two spatial locations was presented first.
test of variables of attentiontest of variables of attention task No definition submitted yet.
Test of Word Reading EfficiencyTest of Word Reading Efficiency task a nationally normed measure of word reading accuracy and fluency that provides an efficient means of monitoring the growth of two kinds of word reading skills that are critical in the development of overall reading ability: the ability to accurately recognize familiar words as whole units or “sight words” and the ability to “sound out” words quickly...
text comprehensiontext comprehension concept Intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed through interactions between text and reader.
text processingtext processing concept The handling of alphabetic characters
theory of mindtheory of mind concept the ability for a person to connect emotional states to themselves and others and understand that other people may have different beliefs, desires, or intentions from one's self. It is intimately connected with the development of a person's ability to analyze and interpret the intentions of others.
Theory of Mind TaskTheory of Mind Task task Subjects are asked to perform a task involving the understanding of another's personal beliefs and feelings or forming hypotheses regarding the mental states of others.
Thermal Grill IllusionThermal Grill Illusion task Innocuous warm and cool bars that are spatially interlaced are applied together to the skin and produce a painful burning sensation. The participant rates the experienced sensation.
thermosensationthermosensation concept the sensory perception of thermal stimuli.
Tobacco Craving QuestionnaireTobacco Craving Questionnaire task a multidimensional questionnaire to assess tobacco craving. It consists of a 47-item TCQ and other forms assessing demographics, tobacco and other drug use history, quit attempts, and current mood. It represents four specific constructs that characterize craving for tobacco: (a) Emotionality, or smoking in anticipation of relief from withdrawal symptoms or negative mood, (b) expectancy, or anticipation of positive outcomes from smoking, (c) compulsivity, or an inability to control tobacco use, and (d) purposefulness, or intention and planning to smoke for positive outcomes...
tone countingtone counting task A task in which a participant needs to count and remember the number of specific tones presented in an experimental run.
Tone Monitor/DiscriminationTone Monitor/Discrimination task Subjects are presented with tones and are instructed to listen to them passively (also coded as Passive Listening) or discriminate according to their order, timing, pitch, frequency, or amplitude.
Tonic pain stimulationTonic pain stimulation task A long pain stimulus (usually more than 20 seconds) is applied to the skin and the participant gives continuous ratings on a visual analogue scale. Pain can be induced with thermal (hot/cold), electrical, chemical or mechanical stimuli.
top down processingtop down processing concept perceptions formed by starting with the larger concept or idea, then working down to the finer details of that concept or idea.
Tower of HanoiTower of Hanoi task No definition submitted yet.
Tower of LondonTower of London task No definition submitted yet.
trace conditioningtrace conditioning task a form of classical conditioning in which the presentation of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus is separated in time by an interstimulus interval.
Trail Making Test A and BTrail Making Test A and B task A neuropsychological test in which participants must connect-the-dots (traverse between items) according to some specified order. In Test A these items are numbers (1,2,3 etc.) and the order is determined by increasing magnitude...
traumatic memorytraumatic memory concept A type of memory results from trauma experience, such as a natural disaster or violent events.
uncertaintyuncertainty concept The condition of being uncertain; (Statistics) the estimated amount or percentage by which an observed or calculated value may differ from the true value.
unconscious processunconscious process concept a mental process that you are not directly aware of.
Underlining TestUnderlining Test task This test involves finding and underlining stimuli that are among other stimuli. There are four conditions of the test: finding and underlining letters among other letters, drawings among other drawings, real words among nonsense letter strings, and then specific nonsense words among others...
Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating ScaleUnified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale task a rating scale used to follow the longitudinal course of Parkinson's disease, made up of the following sections: (1)evaluation of Mentation, behavior, and mood, (2)self evaluation of the activities of daily life (ADLs), (3)clinician-scored motor evaluation, (4)Hoehn and Yahr stating of severity of Parkinson disease, (5)Schwab and England ADL scale; these are evaluated by interview and clinical observation.
unisensoryunisensory concept Describes any neural or behavioral process associated with a single sensory modality (from, Stein BE et al., (2009) Experimental brain research 198: 113-26. doi:10.1007/s00221-009-1880-8)
updatingupdating concept The revision or refreshing of information that is maintained in working memory
updating taskupdating task task
utilityutility concept fitness for some purpose or worth to some end; something useful or designed for use.
Uznadze Haptic Illusion TaskUznadze Haptic Illusion Task task No definition submitted yet.
valencevalence concept the degree of attractiveness an individual, activity, or thing possesses as a behavioral goal.
Vandenberg & Kuse TasksVandenberg & Kuse Tasks task Paper and pencil Test of mental rotation ability. Participants must are presented with four 3-D block figures and must select 2 from the group which match a reference figure. This test is administered under time contraints...
verb generation taskverb generation task task A task in which subjects are presented with nouns and generate an associated verb.
verbal fluencyverbal fluency concept the ability to rapidly access your mental vocabulary while talking or writing.
verbal fluency taskverbal fluency task task A test of the ability to verbally produce words.
verbal memoryverbal memory concept Recall based on spoken words.
verbal semanticsverbal semantics concept No definition submitted yet
verbal working memory taskverbal working memory task task A class of tasks involving the online maintenance and/or manipulation of verbal information.
Vibrotactile Monitor/DiscriminationVibrotactile Monitor/Discrimination task Subjects experience vibrotactile stimulation to the hand, finger, arm, toe, or lip.
Video GamesVideo Games task Subjects play video games.
VigilanceVigilance task No definition submitted yet.
visual alignment task visual alignment task task Participants are shown misaligned lines and asked to indicate which side the top line is offset. Alternatively, participants may be asked to complete an alignment with a pencil or digital pointer.
visual attentionvisual attention concept two-stage process in which attention is distributed uniformly over the external visual scene and processing of information is performed in parallel, attention is then concentrated to a specific area of the visual scene (i...
visual buffervisual buffer concept No definition submitted yet
Visual Distractor/Visual AttentionVisual Distractor/Visual Attention task This category is a catch-all for visuoattention paradigms. Examples include: subjects press a button when a visual target (letters, bars, circles, asterisks, LEDs, etc) appears; subjects detect changes in luminance, shape, or color of visual stimuli; subjects fixate on a central stimuli while ignoring peripheral distractors...
visual imageryvisual imagery concept or mental image, is an experience that, on most occasions, significantly resembles the experience of perceiving some object, event, or scene, but occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present to the senses...
visual maskingvisual masking concept the reduction or elimination of the visibility of a brief (≤ 50 ms) stimulus, called the “target”, by the presentation of a second brief stimulus, called the “mask”.
visual memoryvisual memory concept a part of memory preserving some characteristics of our senses pertaining to visual experience.
visual object recognitionvisual object recognition concept is the process of identifying an object based on its visual attributes
Visual Patterns TestVisual Patterns Test task is a measure of short term visual memory that has been designed for use both as a clinical tool and a research instrument. In the VPT, the subject is presented with matrix patterns of black and white squares in grids of varying size and required to memorize a series of black and white checkerboard-like patterns of increasing complexity...
visual perceptionvisual perception concept Ability to interpret information from visible light reaching the eye.
Visual Pursuit/TrackingVisual Pursuit/Tracking task Subjects view a moving target(s) and track its movement across the screen. Frequently, stimuli are moving dots.
visual representationvisual representation concept An internal model of information resulted from visible light reaching the eye
visual searchvisual search concept a type of perceptual task requiring attention that typically involves an active scan of the visual environment for a particular object or feature (the target) among other objects or features (the distractors).
visual search taskvisual search task task
visual working memoryvisual working memory concept The ability to maintain visual information online for a limited time interval (~ 4 sec). This information has a capacity of ~15 items and is not stored permanently.
visually guided saccade taskvisually guided saccade task task A task in which subjects make visually guided eye movements.
visuospatial cueing taskvisuospatial cueing task task participants look at a computer screen and press buttons to respond to targets. In some of the trials, a visual cue will appear before the target, but in the same spot as the target.
visuospatial sketch padvisuospatial sketch pad concept The cognitive construct and mental process of temporarily storing visual and spatial information for online use in operations of working memory (c.f., Alan Baddeley) .
Warrington's Face/Word Recognition TestWarrington's Face/Word Recognition Test task Also called the Warrington Recognition Memory Test (RMT), "the RMT consists of the presentation of 50 printed words at the rate of one word every 3 s, and for each word the subject is required to judge the presented stimulus as "pleasant" or "unpleasant" to help ensure that they are attending to the stimulus items...
Wason card selection taskWason card selection task task
Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of IntelligenceWechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence task The WASI meets the demand for a reliable, brief measure of intellectual ability in clinical, educational and research settings for ages 6 to 89 years. With parallel forms of WAIS-IIIUK and WISC-IIIUK subtests, it offers the clinician a means of reducing practice effects on repeat testing...
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - RevisedWechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised task used with adults ages 16 to 90 and measures cognitive ability using a core battery of 10 unique subtests that focus on four specific domains of intelligence: verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed...
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-RevisedWechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised task a general test of intelligence, which Wechsler defined as, "... the global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment." In keeping with this definition of intelligence as an aggregate of mental aptitudes or abilities, the WAIS-R consists of 11 subtests divided into two parts, verbal and performance.
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - RevisedWechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised task No definition submitted yet.
Wechsler Memory Scale (revised)Wechsler Memory Scale (revised) task No definition submitted yet.
Wechsler Memory Scale Fourth EditionWechsler Memory Scale Fourth Edition task Areas of Assessment



Updated Test Structure



The WMS-IV has had significant changes to the overall test structure. Based on feedback from customers, we are introducing four new subtests and modifying three existing subtests...
WhistlingWhistling task Subjects whistle.
WISC-R MazesWISC-R Mazes task This task involves completing a series of increasingly complex mazes.
Wisconsin Card Sorting testWisconsin Card Sorting test task The participant is presented with stimulus cards with shapes on them. The cards differ in color of the shapes, number of the shapes, and the form of the shapes. The participant is asked to sort these cards into two piles...
wisdomwisdom concept accumulated philosophic or scientific learning.
word attackword attack task Participants must read non-words aloud. Raw scores are converted into a "reading comprehension age," which is then compared to the participant's real age to determine if they are a poor or gifted reader.
word comprehensionword comprehension concept the ability to understand the meaning of words.
word comprehension taskword comprehension task task A task that measures the comprehension of word meaning.
word fluency testword fluency test task No definition submitted yet.
word frequencyword frequency concept Disambiguation
word generationword generation concept The cognitive process of producing words on ones own term instead of extracting them from an outside source.
Word generation taskWord generation task task Covert: Semantic: subjects listen to or view nouns and silently generate an associated verb, or subjects view a category and silently generate as many exemplars as possible; Orthographic: subjects listen to or view a letter and silently generate as many words as possible that start with that letter; Phonologic: subjects listen to or view a word and silently generate words that rhyme...
word identificationword identification task is the process of determining the pronunciation and some degree of meaning of an unknown word. Note: Word- identification skills commonly taught are phonic analysis, structural analysis, context clues, configuration clues, dictionary skills, and sometimes picture clues...
word one-back taskword one-back task task A one-back task on which subjects are presented with words or word-like stimuli
word orderword order concept is the sequence of the syntactic constituents of a language.
word productionword production concept A processing of generating word, such as speaking and spelling.
word pronunciationword pronunciation concept is the act or result of producing the sounds of speech, including articulation, stress, and intonation, often with reference to some standard of correctness or acceptability.
word recognitionword recognition concept the ability of a reader to recognize written words correctly and virtually effortlessly.
word repetitionword repetition concept is the saying by one individual of the spoken vocalizations(word(s)) made by another individual. This requires the ability in the person making the copy to map the sensory input they hear from the other person's vocal pronunciation into a similar motor output with their own vocal tract.
Word Stem Completion (Covert)Word Stem Completion (Covert) task Subjects view word stems and silently generate a word that completes the stem.
Word Stem Completion (Overt)Word Stem Completion (Overt) task Subjects view word stems and overtly generate a word that completes the stem.
word-picture matching taskword-picture matching task task
word-picture verification taskword-picture verification task task is an experimental paradigm where a picture of an object is presented along with either an auditory or written word and participants indicate whether the word and the picture refer to the same concept...
working memoryworking memory concept active maintenance and flexible updating of goal/task relevant information (items, goals, strategies, etc.) in a form that resists interference but has limited capacity. These representations may involve flexible binding of representations, may be characterized by the absence of external support for the internally maintained representations, and are frequently temporary due to ongoing interference

working memory retrievalworking memory retrieval concept The process of accessing information that is maintained in working memory; the sub-process by which the contents of working memory are accessed.
working memory storageworking memory storage concept The maintenance of information of working memory; a sub-component of working memory that allows for contents of working memory to be retained.
Writing TaskWriting Task task Subjects write letters or words with a pen, stylus, or their finger.
Zoo Map TestZoo Map Test task