Attention
Action-Effect Blindness Task
Also called: response-compatible blindness, action-induced blindness, motorvisual interference
Study how a prepared action affects seeing an arrow. Participants prepare a left or right key press, make it when an arrow flashes, then report the arrow’s direction.
6-8 minTimed: desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Try it here first, with no account.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 2
- Evidence grade
- D
- Registered clinical studies
- 0
What it measures
Measures how preparing a left or right key press affects seeing an arrow in the same direction. Participants prepare F or J, make that press when an arrow flashes, then report the arrow's direction.
Constructs
- Action-perception interaction
- Response preparation
- Visual identification
Research uses
- Action-perception research
- Group comparisons of response-compatible perception
How the paradigm works
Preparing an action can affect the perception of a stimulus that shares its direction. Participants prepare a left or right key press, make it when a masked arrow appears, then report the arrow direction. Action-effect blindness is the finding that arrows matching the prepared action can be harder to identify.
More about the paradigm
This version uses F for the left hand and J for the right. A 500 ms fixation is followed by an 800 ms key cue and a 200 ms blank. The arrow appears for 50 ms, then a pattern masks it. Participants have 1,500 ms from arrow onset to make the prepared press. The mask stays another 300 ms before the arrow report, which allows 5,000 ms. Eight practice trials have feedback; 96 test trials cross both planned actions with both arrow directions equally, with a break halfway. Settings offer 64 or 128 test trials and fixed arrow durations of 33 or 67 ms.
The primary contrast is incompatible minus compatible arrow accuracy. Only trials with a correct, timely planned press and no press during preparation enter it. Interpret the accuracy contrast across groups. The task uses a fixed foreperiod instead of the original double-key trigger, and saves measured display times. Screens differ in frame timing. Use a desktop or laptop keyboard and keep the settings and display conditions consistent. No published norms are applied.
Scores
- Action-Effect Blindness Contrast%
- Incompatible minus compatible arrow accuracy, among trials with a correct planned press from 100 to 1,500 ms and no early press.
- Positive means lower accuracy for arrows matching the prepared action; compare across groups
- Compatible Arrow Accuracy%
- Arrow accuracy when the planned action and arrow direction match.
- Descriptive
- Incompatible Arrow Accuracy%
- Arrow accuracy when the planned action and arrow direction differ.
- Descriptive
- Arrow Accuracy%
- Arrow accuracy among trials with a valid planned press. Early and missing arrow reports count as incorrect.
- Higher means more arrows identified correctly
- Valid Planned Presses%
- Share of test trials with the correct planned press within its window and no early press.
- Higher means more trials retained
- Planned Press Response Timems
- Mean time from arrow onset to a valid planned press.
- Descriptive
- Excluded Trialscount
- Trials removed from the arrow contrast because the planned press was wrong, early or missing.
- Descriptive
- Anticipationscount
- Trials with a planned press or arrow report under 100 ms.
- Descriptive
- Missed Answerscount
- Trials missing the planned press or the arrow report.
- Descriptive
- Test Trialscount
- Test reports in the selected run, before excluding planned-press errors.
- Descriptive
Use and evidence
2 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract. That ranks it 483 of 495 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2015 | 0 |
| 2014 | 0 |
| 2013 | 0 |
| 2012 | 0 |
| 2011 | 1 |
| 2010 | 0 |
| 2009 | 0 |
| 2008 | 0 |
| 2007 | 0 |
| 2006 | 0 |
| 2005 | 0 |
| 2004 | 0 |
| 2003 | 0 |
| 2002 | 0 |
| 2001 | 0 |
| 2000 | 0 |
Use grade E
Fewer than 30 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade D
Little published measurement evidence found.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 0
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 0
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 0
How the grades work
Use: A is 1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025, B 300 to 999, C 100 to 299, D 30 to 99 and E fewer than 30. Evidence: A means at least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome; B, at least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers; C, at least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies; D, little published measurement evidence found. The counts measure use. They include every paper that names the task in its title or abstract. Grades describe the published research on this task, not ConductCognition's version of it.
Source: ConductCognition test census 0.22.0, counted 2 November 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Trial
- 500 ms fixation, 800 ms F/J cue, 200 ms blank, then a 50 ms arrow and a pattern mask. The planned press has 1,500 ms from arrow onset.
- Arrow report
- After the planned press or its deadline, the mask stays for 300 ms. The left/right arrow keys report direction within 5,000 ms.
- Trial mix
- Eight practice trials with feedback, then 96 test trials without feedback. Each of the four planned-action × arrow-direction combinations appears 24 times in seeded random order. A break comes halfway.
- Settings
- 64, 96 or 128 test trials; fixed arrow displays of 33, 50 or 67 ms. No adaptive duration or training. Measured frame and display durations are saved.
- Score
- Incompatible minus compatible arrow accuracy after excluding wrong, early or missing planned presses. Positive values mean poorer identification of arrows matching the prepared action.
This version adapts the prepared-action method with a fixed cue interval, replacing the original double-key trigger. Use the contrast for group research. It is not an individual cutoff. Screens differ in timing; keep display conditions and settings consistent. A desktop or laptop keyboard is required.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: action_effect_blindness_test from the selected run. The left or right arrow key reports the arrow direction within 5,000 ms, with correctness recomputed from the key. Only trials with a correct planned F/J press from 100 to 1,500 ms and no early press enter the contrast. Below chance invalidates and not above chance is flagged. Fewer than eight usable trials in either condition, more than a quarter of invalid planned presses, or an incomplete session is flagged. Repeated answers, omissions and responses under 100 ms follow the timed-test rule.
Why these rules
Accuracy significantly below chance (one-sided exact test, p < .05) cannot come from guessing; it means the response mapping was reversed or the task was not followed (Slick, Sherman and Iverson 1999 treat below-chance forced-choice performance as definite response bias). Chance-level accuracy can be a real result in impaired participants, so it is only flagged. One option on at least 90% of answered trials, when the correct options are balanced and accuracy is not above chance, means the answers did not depend on the items (the task counterpart of long-string responding in surveys; Curran 2016). Missed responses and responses under 100 ms keep the platform's timed-test rule: more than max(3, 25%) missed responses or more than max(2, 20%) responses under 100 ms invalidate, and any is flagged. A response under 100 ms cannot be a reaction to the stimulus. The condition contrast requires that the planned action was carried out. The eight-trial and quarter-session review limits are ConductScience choices.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Test trials | 96 (standard) | 64, 96 (standard), 128 |
| Arrow display (ms) | 50 ms (standard) | 33 ms, 50 ms (standard), 67 ms |
Yearly plans can change settings within these limits. Free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Need a setting this test does not have?
Devices and languages
- Timed test: participants need a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad. Participant devices
- Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- No percentile. Scores and quality flags only. How norms work
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Action-Effect Blindness Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Müsseler & Hommel, 1997), with the standard settings (test trials: 96; arrow display (ms): 50 ms). The main score was action-effect blindness contrast (incompatible minus compatible arrow accuracy, among trials with a correct planned press from 100 to 1,500 ms and no early press).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Müsseler, J., & Hommel, B. (1997). Blindness to response-compatible stimuli. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 23(3), 861-872. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.23.3.861Prepared left/right actions paired with briefly masked arrows; compare identification for compatible and incompatible directions.
Source papers
- Müsseler, J., & Hommel, B. (1997). Blindness to response-compatible stimuli. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 23(3), 861-872.Paradigm source, Adults
Questions
How long does the Action-Effect Blindness Task take?
About 6 to 8 minutes, as listed in the test library.
What device does a participant need?
Timed test: participants need a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Action-Effect Blindness Contrast, Compatible Arrow Accuracy, Incompatible Arrow Accuracy, Arrow Accuracy, Valid Planned Presses, Planned Press Response Time, Excluded Trials, Anticipations, Missed Answers and Test Trials. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Action-Effect Blindness Task used in research?
2 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract. That ranks it 483 of 495 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade E). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.22.0, counted 2 November 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Action-Effect Blindness Task have?
In the published research, 0 papers report its test-retest reliability and 0 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade D in the ConductCognition test census).
Does it report a percentile?
No. Scores and quality flags only.
Which settings can a researcher change?
Test trials (64, 96 (standard), 128) and arrow display (ms) (33 ms, 50 ms (standard), 67 ms). Settings can be changed on yearly plans; free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Which languages can participants use?
Participants can take this test in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. English is on every plan, and the other languages come with yearly plans. Have a native speaker read the machine-translated text before launch.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
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