Attention
Cancellation Test
Also called: cancellation task, shape cancellation, target cancellation
Measure visual search and spatial attention as participants mark every star among other shapes, with misses on each side and the center of cancellation.
3-6 minUntimed
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Preview any test free after you sign up.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 459
- Evidence grade
- A
- Registered clinical studies
- 253
What it measures
Measures visual search and how attention spreads across the left and right of a display. Participants mark every star among other shapes, then press Done. Scores include stars found, misses on each side and the center of cancellation.
Constructs
- Visual search
- Spatial attention
- Search organization
Research uses
- Spatial attention and neglect research
- Visual search research
- Within-study group comparison
How the paradigm works
The cancellation test measures visual search and how attention is spread across a display. A field of 160 shapes in 16 columns and 10 rows holds 32 five-point stars among circles, triangles, diamonds and crosses. Participants click or tap every star they can find. Each mark puts a line through the shape and cannot be removed. They press Done, and confirm, when they have finished. There is no time limit unless the study sets one (1, 2, 3 or 5 minutes).
More about the paradigm
Each column holds two stars, one in the upper half and one in the lower half, so each half of the field holds 16 stars and each quarter 8. The layout, with a shift of up to a quarter cell for every shape, is drawn from the session's random seed and saved with every press: its time, its position as a share of the field, the shape hit and whether it was a star. A practice field of 24 shapes with 6 stars comes first; afterwards the missed stars are circled.
The main score is the number of stars found. Omissions are also counted in the left and right halves. The center of cancellation (Rorden and Karnath 2010) is the mean horizontal position of the stars found, scaled so the leftmost star is -1 and the rightmost +1 and shifted so that finding every star gives 0; positive values mean the stars found lay to the right. Search organization follows Dalmaijer et al. (2015): the intersection rate of the path through the stars in the order they were marked, and the best R, the larger absolute correlation of marking order with horizontal or vertical position. The scores support research on spatial attention and do not diagnose neglect.
Scores
- Stars Foundcount
- Stars marked at least once, of the 32 on the field.
- Higher is better
- Omissionscount
- Stars not marked.
- Lower is better
- Left Omissionscount
- Stars not marked in the left half of the field (columns 1 to 8).
- Compare with right omissions; a difference shows a side bias
- Right Omissionscount
- Stars not marked in the right half of the field (columns 9 to 16).
- Compare with left omissions; a difference shows a side bias
- Center of Cancellationscore
- Mean horizontal position of the stars found, from -1 (leftmost star) to +1 (rightmost), 0 when every star is found.
- Positive values mean the stars found lay to the right
- Vertical Center of Cancellationscore
- The same index from the top (-1) to the bottom (+1).
- Positive values mean the stars found lay lower on the field
- False Markscount
- Shapes other than stars that were marked.
- Lower is better
- Revisitscount
- Presses on stars that were already marked.
- Lower means fewer repeated marks
- Completion Timeseconds
- Time from the field appearing to Done, or to the time limit.
- Lower is faster
- Intersection Ratescore
- Crossings of the path through the stars, in the order marked, divided by the number of star marks, immediate revisits removed.
- Lower means a more orderly search
- Best Rscore
- The larger absolute correlation of marking order with horizontal or with vertical position.
- Higher means a more orderly search
- Time Between Marksms
- Mean time between consecutive star marks.
- Lower is faster
- First Mark, Horizontal%
- Horizontal position of the first star marked, 0 at the leftmost shape and 1 at the rightmost.
- Values near 0 mean the search started on the left
- First Mark, Vertical%
- Vertical position of the first star marked, 0 at the top shape and 1 at the bottom.
- Values near 0 mean the search started at the top
- Ended by Time Limit0/1
- 1 when the time limit ended the search before Done was pressed.
- 1 means the search was cut short
Use and evidence
459 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, up 10% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 56 of 395 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 113 |
| 2024 | 88 |
| 2023 | 91 |
| 2022 | 84 |
| 2021 | 83 |
| 2020 | 83 |
| 2019 | 89 |
| 2018 | 82 |
| 2017 | 92 |
| 2016 | 71 |
| 2015 | 87 |
| 2014 | 91 |
| 2013 | 77 |
| 2012 | 93 |
| 2011 | 63 |
| 2010 | 71 |
| 2009 | 62 |
| 2008 | 58 |
| 2007 | 52 |
| 2006 | 54 |
| 2005 | 35 |
| 2004 | 46 |
| 2003 | 39 |
| 2002 | 38 |
| 2001 | 26 |
| 2000 | 16 |
Use grade B
300 to 999 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade A
At least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 31
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 220
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 253
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 0.14.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Field
- 160 shapes in 16 columns and 10 rows: 32 stars among circles, triangles, diamonds and crosses.
- Balance
- Two stars in every column, one in each half, so each side of the field holds 16 stars.
- Layout
- Drawn from the session's seed, each shape shifted up to a quarter cell, and saved with every click.
- Response
- Click or tap each star; marks stay and cannot be removed. Done, then a confirm step, ends the search.
- Time limit
- None (standard), or 1, 2, 3 or 5 minutes.
- Practice
- A field of 24 shapes with 6 stars; missed stars are circled afterwards.
The scores support research on spatial attention and do not diagnose neglect.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored row: cancellation_test from the scored run. Each shape on the field counts once, marked or not, star or not. A field with no marks is invalid. Marks concentrated on other shapes rather than stars (one-sided Fisher exact test, p < .05) invalidate; marks that do not separate stars from other shapes are flagged. Missed stars never invalidate.
Why these rules
There is no correct option to compare with chance, so accuracy is not judged against chance. Responses concentrated on trials that needed none (one-sided Fisher exact test, p < .05) mean the instructions were reversed and invalidate; responses that do not separate the two trial types are flagged. Missed stars are the outcome this test measures, including every star on one side of the field, so omissions never invalidate a session on their own.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Time limit | No limit (standard) | No limit (standard), 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes |
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
- Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops and tablets. Participant devices
- Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Cancellation Test in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Weintraub & Mesulam, 1988; Rorden & Karnath, 2010), with the standard settings (time limit: No limit). The main score was stars found (stars marked at least once, of the 32 on the field).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Weintraub, S., & Mesulam, M. M. (1988). Visual hemispatial inattention: Stimulus parameters and exploratory strategies. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 51(12), 1481-1488. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.51.12.1481
- Rorden, C., & Karnath, H.-O. (2010). A simple measure of neglect severity. Neuropsychologia, 48(9), 2758-2763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.04.018
- Dalmaijer, E. S., Van der Stigchel, S., Nijboer, T. C. W., Cornelissen, T. H. W., & Husain, M. (2015). CancellationTools: All-in-one software for administration and analysis of cancellation tasks. Behavior Research Methods, 47(4), 1065-1075. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-014-0522-7
Source papers
- Weintraub S, Mesulam MM (1988). Visual hemispatial inattention: stimulus parameters and exploratory strategies. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 51(12):1481-1488.Paradigm source, Adults
- Rorden C, Karnath HO (2010). A simple measure of neglect severity. Neuropsychologia, 48(9):2758-2763.Paradigm source, Adults
- Dalmaijer ES, Van der Stigchel S, Nijboer TCW, Cornelissen THW, Husain M (2015). CancellationTools: All-in-one software for administration and analysis of cancellation tasks. Behavior Research Methods, 47(4):1065-1075.Paradigm source, Adults
Questions
How long does the Cancellation Test take?
About 3 to 6 minutes, as listed in the test library.
What device does a participant need?
Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops and tablets. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Stars Found, Omissions, Left Omissions, Right Omissions, Center of Cancellation, Vertical Center of Cancellation, False Marks, Revisits, Completion Time, Intersection Rate, Best R, Time Between Marks, First Mark, Horizontal, First Mark, Vertical and Ended by Time Limit. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Cancellation Test used in research?
459 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, up 10% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 56 of 395 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade B). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.14.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Cancellation Test have?
In the published research, 31 papers report its test-retest reliability and 253 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade A in the ConductCognition test census).
Which settings can a researcher change?
Time limit (No limit (standard), 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes). 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.
Every test: the full test list.
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