Battery guide
Associative Memory Battery guide
Three tests of face-name learning, word pair learning and memory for the order of events, for associative memory research.
- Guide version
- 1.2.0
- Battery version
- 1.0.0
What it measures
Who it is for: Associative learning and memory research.
It measures Face-name association memory, Verbal paired-associate learning and Memory for temporal order.
Episodic memory: Learning material and later recalling or recognizing it.
Scores describe how a person performs on these tasks. Research use only.
Tests in order
The tests run in this order. A study started from the battery keeps the order and the settings.
1. Face-name Memory Task. Measures memory for names and jobs paired with faces. Participants study 12 faces, type each name and job, then pick each face, name and job from three.
2. Word Pair Learning. Measures how well people learn pairs of words. Participants study 12 English word pairs, half related and half unrelated, and type the second word of each pair when shown the first, over three rounds and once more after a short break.
3. Picture Order Memory Test. Measures episodic memory for the order of events. Participants watch a series of pictures one at a time, then put the pictures back in the order shown, over several rounds.
| Order | Test | Domain | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Face-name Memory Task | Episodic memory | 8 to 10 minutes |
| 2 | Word Pair Learning | Episodic memory | 10 to 12 minutes |
| 3 | Picture Order Memory Test | Episodic memory | 6 to 10 minutes |
Time and devices
Allow about 32 minutes for the whole battery. The table gives each test's time.
Participants can use a desktop or laptop, tablet or phone.
On a desktop or laptop the screen must be at least 1024 by 700 pixels.
A tablet or phone needs a screen of at least 360 by 640 pixels.
On phones and tablets, each test is compared only with sessions on the same kind of device. A test shows a percentile there once that reference group holds 50 valid sessions in the participant's age band; until then the report shows raw scores and says so.
Participants need Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
| Test | Timing | Devices |
|---|---|---|
| Face-name Memory Task | Untimed | Desktop or laptop, tablet or phone |
| Word Pair Learning | Untimed | Desktop or laptop, tablet or phone |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Untimed | Desktop or laptop, tablet or phone |
Languages
Runs in English only: Face-name Memory Task and Word Pair Learning keep their words and sentences in English.
How to give it
Start a study from the battery in the app. The tests, their order and their settings are already set and stay fixed. If you change, reorder or customize a test, the study becomes a custom study and no longer carries the battery.
Each test opens with its instructions. Participants see these:
Face-name Memory Task: Remember the first name and the job shown with each face. After a short break, type each person's name and job, then pick each face, name and job from three options.
Word Pair Learning: Learn each pair of words. After each list, type the second word of each pair when you see the first. The list comes three times, then once more after a short break.
Picture Order Memory Test: Pictures appear one at a time. Remember their order, then put them back in that order. The same pictures come back in the same order each round.
| Step | Before you invite participants |
|---|---|
| 1 | Recruit participants who read English well. |
| 2 | Ask participants to take the battery in one quiet sitting, without help. |
| 3 | Tell participants not to write down the names, jobs or words. |
| 4 | Pilot the battery yourself on the kind of device your participants will use. |
How each test is scored
The server scores each test when the participant finishes it. The primary score is the one the app compares with a norm. The other scores are reported with it.
Every result records its scoring version. For this battery they are Face-name Memory Task 1.0.0, Word Pair Learning 1.0.0 and Picture Order Memory Test 1.0.0.
| Test | Score | What it is | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face-name Memory Task | Names and Jobs Recalled (primary) | First names plus jobs typed correctly for the faces, out of 24 (twice the number of faces). | Higher is better |
| Face-name Memory Task | Names Recalled | First names typed correctly, out of 12. | Higher is better |
| Face-name Memory Task | Jobs Recalled | Jobs typed correctly, out of 12. | Higher is better |
| Face-name Memory Task | Percent Recalled (%) | Names and jobs recalled as a percent of those asked for. | Higher is better |
| Face-name Memory Task | Faces Recognized | Faces picked correctly out of three faces, out of 12. | Higher is better; chance is a third |
| Face-name Memory Task | Names Recognized | Names picked correctly out of three names, out of 12. | Higher is better; chance is a third |
| Face-name Memory Task | Jobs Recognized | Jobs picked correctly out of three jobs, out of 12. | Higher is better; chance is a third |
| Face-name Memory Task | Swapped Answers | Wrong typed answers that give the name or job of another person in the list. | Lower is better |
| Face-name Memory Task | Swapped Choices | Name and job choices of the option that belonged to another person in the list. | Lower is better |
| Face-name Memory Task | Median Choice Time (ms) | Median time to make a choice; choices under 100 ms are left out. | Context for accuracy |
| Word Pair Learning | Total Pairs Recalled (primary) | Pairs recalled summed over the three learning rounds, 0 to 36 at the standard settings. | Higher is better |
| Word Pair Learning | Recalled, Round 1 | Pairs recalled in the first round. | Higher is better |
| Word Pair Learning | Recalled, Round 2 | Pairs recalled in the second round. | Higher is better |
| Word Pair Learning | Recalled, Round 3 | Pairs recalled in the third round. | Higher is better |
| Word Pair Learning | Recalled, Delayed Round | Pairs recalled after the break, with no study. | Higher is better |
| Word Pair Learning | Learning Gain | Pairs recalled in the third round minus the first. | Positive values show learning across rounds |
| Word Pair Learning | Percent Retained (%) | Pairs recalled in the delayed round as a percent of the third round. | Higher is better; can exceed 100 |
| Word Pair Learning | Related Pairs Recalled | Related pairs recalled over the three learning rounds, 0 to 18. | Higher is better |
| Word Pair Learning | Unrelated Pairs Recalled | Unrelated pairs recalled over the three learning rounds, 0 to 18. | Higher is better |
| Word Pair Learning | Related Pairs, Delayed Round | Related pairs recalled in the delayed round. | Higher is better |
| Word Pair Learning | Unrelated Pairs, Delayed Round | Unrelated pairs recalled in the delayed round. | Higher is better |
| Word Pair Learning | Wrong-Pair Answers | Answers that name a word of another pair, or the cue itself, over every round. | Context for the scores |
| Word Pair Learning | Typo Matches | Answers accepted with one wrong, missing, extra or swapped letter. | Context for recall scores |
| Word Pair Learning | Blank Answers | Answers left blank, over every round. | Context for recall scores |
| Word Pair Learning | Break Accuracy (proportion) | Share of true-or-false arithmetic answered correctly during the break. | Shows the break task was done |
| Word Pair Learning | Answers Recorded | Recall answers recorded in the run. | Fewer than planned invalidates the session |
| Word Pair Learning | Answers Planned | Recall answers the session planned: every pair in four rounds. | Context for the scores |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Adjacent Pairs (primary) | Pairs of pictures placed next to each other in the order shown, wherever they sit in the row, summed over the rounds (0 to 42 at the standard settings). | Higher is better |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Adjacent Pairs, First Round | Adjacent pairs in the first round, after one showing of the series (0 to 14 at the standard settings). | Higher is better |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Adjacent Pairs, Last Round | Adjacent pairs in the last round given (0 to 14 at the standard settings). | Higher is better |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Learning Gain | Adjacent pairs in the last round minus those in the first. Null with fewer than two rounds. | Informational |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Best Round | The most adjacent pairs in one round. Feeds the quality rule. | Higher is better |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Pictures in Place | Pictures put back at their own position, summed over the rounds (0 to 45 at the standard settings). | Higher is better |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Perfect Rounds | Rounds with every picture at its own position. | Higher is better |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Median Time per Round (ms) | Median time on the answer screen per round, leaving out times under 100 ms. | Informational |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Anticipations | Rounds answered in under 100 ms. | Lower is better |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Rounds Given | Test rounds given before the task ended (3 at the standard settings). | Informational |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Rounds Planned | Rounds in the session's settings: 3 at the standard settings. Feeds the quality rule. | Informational |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Series Length | Pictures in the series: 15 at the standard settings. | Informational |
| Picture Order Memory Test | Practice Finished | 1 when the practice series was put back, otherwise 0. Feeds the quality rule. | Informational |
Session quality rules
The app checks every session when it scores it and records one of four states.
An Invalid session stays in the study's results, labelled with its reason, and does not count toward norms.
A session can carry warnings and still be valid. The results list the warnings next to the scores.
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Norm-ready | The session passed every check and a norm exists for it, so the app can show a percentile. |
| Raw-only | The scores are usable, but the app shows no percentile. Typical reasons are no norm for the test, changed settings, or a warning that makes a comparison unfair, such as a restart or a screen too short for the display. |
| Invalid technical | The setup broke the timing or the task. Examples are leaving full screen, a browser tab that lost focus during a timed test, and long pauses. |
| Invalid behavioral | The responses suggest the task was not done as asked. Examples are a failed attention check, repeated switching away from the task, and accuracy at or below chance on a choice task. |
Published norms used
No published norm is used for any test in this battery.
ConductCognition also builds norms from its own participants. An age band of a test uses them once it holds at least 50 valid sessions on the same device and input type, run with standard settings and scored with the current scoring version. Sessions from paying customers' studies and from clinical or patient samples do not count.
A report shows a percentile only when the app has stored one for that session. Otherwise it shows the raw scores.
Every reference group covers ages 18 and over. No reference group covers a participant under 18, so their report shows raw scores only, and their sessions do not count toward norms.
How to cite
ConductScience, Inc. Associative Memory Battery guide, version 1.2.0. ConductCognition. https://conductcognition.com/batteries/associative-memory/guide
Cite the guide version you used. Name the battery version (1.0.0) and the scoring versions listed in this guide.