Battery guide
Emotion and Mood Battery guide
Four tasks for mood and anxiety research: attention to threat words, emotional interference, effort for reward and reward anticipation.
- Guide version
- 1.2.0
- Battery version
- 1.0.0
What it measures
Who it is for: Mood and anxiety research.
It measures Attentional bias to threat, Emotional interference, Effort-based decision-making and Reward anticipation.
Attention: Keeping attention on a task and picking out what matters.
Executive function: Planning, switching rules, handling conflict and making decisions.
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. Dot-Probe Task. Measures whether attention is drawn toward threatening words. A threat word and a neutral word flash above and below a cross, then a dot appears where one of them was and participants report its position with the arrow keys.
2. Emotional Stroop Task. Measures how much emotional words slow color naming. Negative, positive and neutral words appear in red, green, blue or yellow ink, and participants press the key for the ink color, ignoring the word.
3. Effort Discounting Task. Measures how much mental effort lowers the value of a reward. Participants learn the n-back at 1, 2 and 3 back, each level named by a color, then choose between redoing the 1-back for fewer points and redoing a harder level for 640 points. Adjusting choices give the subjective value of each harder level.
4. Monetary Incentive Delay. Measures how the chance to win or the threat of losing points speeds responses to a brief target, a behavioral index of reward anticipation.
| Order | Test | Domain | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dot-Probe Task | Attention | 3 to 5 minutes |
| 2 | Emotional Stroop Task | Attention | 3 to 5 minutes |
| 3 | Effort Discounting Task | Executive function | 7 to 9 minutes |
| 4 | Monetary Incentive Delay | Executive function | 6 to 9 minutes |
Time and devices
Allow about 28 minutes for the whole battery. The table gives each test's time.
The battery has timed tests. Participants need a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad, and the timed tests run in full screen. Tablets and phones cannot run it.
On a desktop or laptop the screen must be at least 1024 by 700 pixels.
Participants need Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
| Test | Timing | Devices |
|---|---|---|
| Dot-Probe Task | Timed | Desktop or laptop |
| Emotional Stroop Task | Timed | Desktop or laptop |
| Effort Discounting Task | Timed | Desktop or laptop |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Timed | Desktop or laptop |
Languages
Runs in English only: Dot-Probe Task and Emotional Stroop Task 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:
Dot-Probe Task: Press the up or down arrow to show where the dot appears, as quickly and accurately as you can.
Emotional Stroop Task: Press R, G, B or Y for the ink color of each word, as quickly and accurately as you can. Ignore what the word says.
Effort Discounting Task: Press the spacebar when a letter is a match. Then choose which letter task you would rather do again for the points offered. There is no right or wrong choice.
Monetary Incentive Delay: A shape shows whether points can be won, lost or neither. Press the spacebar while a brief white square is on the screen. The points are hypothetical unless your study pays.
| Step | Before you invite participants |
|---|---|
| 1 | Preview the emotional words in the first two tasks and include them in your ethics submission. |
| 2 | Give participants a way to contact the study team after the session. |
| 3 | Tell participants that the points in the tasks are not paid out. |
| 4 | Pilot the battery yourself on a desktop or laptop. |
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 Dot-Probe Task 1.0.1, Emotional Stroop Task 1.0.0, Effort Discounting Task 1.0.0 and Monetary Incentive Delay 1.0.0.
| Test | Score | What it is | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-Probe Task | Attentional Bias (ms, primary) | Incongruent minus congruent mean correct response time on threat trials. | Positive values mean attention was drawn to threat words |
| Dot-Probe Task | Congruent RT (ms) | Mean correct response time when the dot replaced the threat word. | Lower is faster |
| Dot-Probe Task | Incongruent RT (ms) | Mean correct response time when the dot replaced the neutral word. | Lower is faster |
| Dot-Probe Task | Neutral RT (ms) | Mean correct response time on neutral filler trials. | Lower is faster |
| Dot-Probe Task | Accuracy (proportion) | Share of all test trials answered with the dot's side. | Higher is better |
| Dot-Probe Task | Bias, Odd Trials (ms) | The bias score from odd-numbered threat trials. | For split-half reliability across a study |
| Dot-Probe Task | Bias, Even Trials (ms) | The bias score from even-numbered threat trials. | For split-half reliability across a study |
| Emotional Stroop Task | Emotional Interference (ms, primary) | Negative minus neutral mean correct response time. | Positive values mean negative words slowed color naming |
| Emotional Stroop Task | Positive Interference (ms) | Positive minus neutral mean correct response time. | Positive values mean positive words slowed color naming |
| Emotional Stroop Task | Negative RT (ms) | Mean correct response time to negative words. | Lower is faster |
| Emotional Stroop Task | Positive RT (ms) | Mean correct response time to positive words. | Lower is faster |
| Emotional Stroop Task | Neutral RT (ms) | Mean correct response time to neutral words. | Lower is faster |
| Emotional Stroop Task | Negative Accuracy (proportion) | Share of negative words answered with the ink color. | Higher is better |
| Emotional Stroop Task | Neutral Accuracy (proportion) | Share of neutral words answered with the ink color. | Higher is better |
| Emotional Stroop Task | Accuracy (proportion) | Share of all test trials answered with the ink color. | Higher is better |
| Effort Discounting Task | Mean Subjective Value (proportion, primary) | Mean subjective value of the harder levels: each level's indifference point divided by the 640 points offered for it. | Higher means less discounting of effort |
| Effort Discounting Task | Area Under the Curve (proportion) | Area under the subjective value curve across the harder levels, by trapezoids. With the standard 2 and 3 back it equals the mean subjective value. | Higher means less discounting of effort |
| Effort Discounting Task | Subjective Value, 2-Back (proportion) | Indifference point for the 2-back divided by 640. | 1 means the 2-back was worth as much as the 1-back |
| Effort Discounting Task | Subjective Value, 3-Back (proportion) | Indifference point for the 3-back divided by 640. | 1 means the 3-back was worth as much as the 1-back |
| Effort Discounting Task | Subjective Value, 4-Back (proportion) | Indifference point for the 4-back divided by 640, when the study runs it. | 1 means the 4-back was worth as much as the 1-back |
| Effort Discounting Task | Harder Choices (proportion) | Share of choices for the harder level. | Higher means more choices of effort |
| Effort Discounting Task | N-Back Accuracy (proportion) | Share of letters answered correctly in the blocks before the choices, all levels together. | Higher is better |
| Effort Discounting Task | Match Response Time (ms) | Mean time to press for a match in the blocks before the choices. | Lower is faster |
| Effort Discounting Task | Choice Time (ms) | Mean time to make a choice. | Shows how long choices took |
| Effort Discounting Task | Early Presses | Presses under 100 ms after a letter appeared, counted as no press. | Lower is better |
| Effort Discounting Task | Play-Out Accuracy (proportion) | Share of letters answered correctly in the block played out after the choices. | Higher is better |
| Effort Discounting Task | Other Minus Self Effort Value (proportion) | Other-person mean subjective value minus self mean subjective value, available after both sets of choices are complete. | Negative means more discounting for the other person |
| Effort Discounting Task | Subjective Value for Self (proportion) | Mean subjective value of harder levels for points for the participant. | Higher means less discounting of effort |
| Effort Discounting Task | Subjective Value for Other (proportion) | Mean subjective value of harder levels for points for the other person. | Higher means less discounting of effort |
| Effort Discounting Task | Harder Choices for Self (proportion) | Share of harder choices for the participant. | Compare within the study |
| Effort Discounting Task | Harder Choices for Other (proportion) | Share of harder choices for the other person. | Compare within the study |
| Effort Discounting Task | Effort Area for Self (proportion) | Area under the subjective-value curve for the participant. | Higher means less discounting of effort |
| Effort Discounting Task | Effort Area for Other (proportion) | Area under the subjective-value curve for the other person. | Higher means less discounting of effort |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Anticipatory Speeding (ms, primary) | Mean response time on neutral rounds minus mean response time on gain rounds. | Higher means a larger speed-up when points can be won |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Loss-Avoidance Speeding (ms) | Mean response time on neutral rounds minus mean response time on loss rounds. | Higher means a larger speed-up when points can be lost |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Mean RT, Gain Rounds (ms) | Mean time from target onset to the press on gain rounds, over presses at or after 100 ms. | Informational |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Mean RT, Loss Rounds (ms) | Mean time from target onset to the press on loss rounds, over presses at or after 100 ms. | Informational |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Mean RT, Neutral Rounds (ms) | Mean time from target onset to the press on neutral rounds, over presses at or after 100 ms. | Informational |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Hit Rate, Gain Rounds (proportion) | Share of gain rounds with a press while the target was shown. | Informational |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Hit Rate, Loss Rounds (proportion) | Share of loss rounds with a press while the target was shown. | Informational |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Hit Rate, Neutral Rounds (proportion) | Share of neutral rounds with a press while the target was shown. | Informational |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Hit Rate (proportion) | Share of all rounds hit. The adaptive target time aims for 66% as standard. | Informational |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Total Points (points) | Points won on gain rounds minus points lost on loss rounds. | Informational |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Anticipations | Presses under 100 ms after the target appeared. | Lower is better |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Early Presses | Rounds with a press during the cue or the cross. | Lower is better |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Omissions | Rounds with no press at all. | Lower is better |
| Monetary Incentive Delay | Final Target Duration (ms) | Target duration on the last round, set by the adaptive 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. Emotion and Mood Battery guide, version 1.2.0. ConductCognition. https://conductcognition.com/batteries/emotion-mood/guide
Cite the guide version you used. Name the battery version (1.0.0) and the scoring versions listed in this guide.