Battery guide
Reaction Time Study guide
Simple and choice reaction time, to compare responses with and without a decision.
- Guide version
- 1.0.0
- Battery version
- 1.0.0
What it measures
Who it is for: Processing speed and attention.
It measures Psychomotor speed and Decision speed.
Processing speed: How quickly people take in information and respond.
Attention: Keeping attention on a task and picking out what matters.
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. Simple Reaction Time. Measures basic processing speed by asking participants to respond as quickly as possible when a stimulus appears on screen.
2. Choice Reaction Time. Measures attention and decision speed by requiring participants to select the correct response based on which stimulus appears.
| Order | Test | Domain | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simple Reaction Time | Processing speed | 2 to 3 minutes |
| 2 | Choice Reaction Time | Attention | 3 to 4 minutes |
Time and devices
Allow about 7 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Reaction Time | Timed | Desktop or laptop |
| Choice Reaction Time | Timed | Desktop or laptop |
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:
Simple Reaction Time: Press the spacebar as quickly as you can when you see the target appear on screen.
Choice Reaction Time: Press the LEFT arrow key if the stimulus appears on the left, or the RIGHT arrow key if it appears on the right. Respond as quickly and accurately as you can.
| Step | Before you invite participants |
|---|---|
| 1 | Review consent before inviting participants. |
| 2 | Preview the test sequence. |
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 Simple Reaction Time 1.0.0 and Choice Reaction Time 1.0.0.
| Test | Score | What it is | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Reaction Time | Mean Reaction Time (ms, primary) | Average reaction time across valid trials, excluding anticipatory responses (<100ms). | Lower is better |
| Simple Reaction Time | Median Reaction Time (ms) | Median reaction time, more robust to outliers than the mean. Preferred when the RT distribution is skewed. | Lower is better |
| Simple Reaction Time | RT Standard Deviation (ms) | Standard deviation of reaction times. Reflects response consistency (intraindividual variability). Elevated IIV is a biomarker for cognitive decline. | Lower is better |
| Simple Reaction Time | Minimum RT (ms) | Informational | |
| Simple Reaction Time | Maximum RT (ms) | Slowest response recorded. May indicate lapses in attention. | Informational |
| Simple Reaction Time | Accuracy (proportion) | Proportion of trials with a valid response. Expected near ceiling for healthy participants. | Higher is better |
| Choice Reaction Time | Mean Reaction Time (ms, primary) | Average RT on correct trials only. Primary measure of decision speed. | Lower is better |
| Choice Reaction Time | Median Reaction Time (ms) | Median RT on correct trials, robust to outliers. | Lower is better |
| Choice Reaction Time | RT Standard Deviation (ms) | Variability in reaction times across correct trials. | Lower is better |
| Choice Reaction Time | Accuracy (proportion) | Proportion of correct responses (correct key pressed). | Higher is better |
| Choice Reaction Time | Correct Trials | Number of trials with a correct response. | Higher is better |
| Choice Reaction Time | Error Trials | Number of trials with an incorrect key press. | Lower is better |
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.
How to cite
ConductScience, Inc. Reaction Time Study guide, version 1.0.0. ConductCognition. https://conductcognition.com/batteries/reaction-time/guide
Cite the guide version you used. Name the battery version (1.0.0) and the scoring versions listed in this guide.