Attention
Field of View Speed Test
Also called: divided attention speed task, visual processing speed task, brief display localization task
Measure the display time a person needs for 75 percent correct, at the center of the screen, with a dot near the edge, and among clutter.
8-10 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. Preview any test free after you sign up.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 123
- Evidence grade
- B
- Registered clinical studies
- 53
What it measures
A measure of how long a display must stay on for a person to take it in. A shape flashes at the center, alone, with a dot near the edge of the screen, or with the dot among outlined squares, and random lines then cover it. The display times are a fixed list, each shown equally often. The score is the time needed for 75 percent correct.
Constructs
- Visual processing speed
- Divided attention
- Selective attention
Research uses
- Aging and attention research
- Visual processing speed research
- Within-study group comparison
How the paradigm works
The Field of View Speed Test measures how long a display must stay on before a person can take it in, at the center of the screen and near its edge at the same time. Sekuler and Ball (1986) showed that distractors hurt older observers when they locate a target, and Ball and colleagues (1988) studied how much can be taken in during one eye fixation, and how distractors and a second task change that. In a three-year study of older drivers, difficulty dividing attention under brief displays went with more crashes (Owsley and colleagues, 1998). Those studies used other tasks, so their figures do not apply here.
More about the paradigm
Each trial is a cross for 800 ms, the display, random lines for about 300 ms that cover it, and then the answers with no time limit. The test has three parts, each after 4 practice trials with feedback at the longest display time. In the center part, one of two shapes appears at the center: a ring with a level bar or an upright bar. In the center and side part, a dot also appears on one of eight side positions, and the person answers both questions on every trial: which shape, then where the dot was. In the third part, a setting that is on as standard, the dot sits among 47 outlined squares. The dot's distance from the center comes from the window, up to 380 px, and is saved in pixels on every trial.
The display times are a fixed list set before the session: 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 and 21 frames of a 60 Hz screen, about 33 to 350 ms, converted to whole frames at the measured refresh rate. Every time appears equally often, 6 times in each part as standard, in a seeded order. The frames requested and measured are saved on every trial.
For each part, the score is the display time for 75 percent correct, from a monotone fit through percent correct at each time (pool adjacent violators, then linear interpolation on log time). A trial with a side dot is right only when both answers are right. The primary score is this time for the center and side part, and lower values mean the person needed less time. If 75 percent is not reached at the longest time, the longest time is reported with a ceiling flag. If it is passed at the shortest time, the shortest time is reported with a floor flag. Scores also give the center and clutter times, their sum, percent correct at each time, side accuracy when the center answer was right, and the frame timing the browser achieved. Scores support research and do not diagnose.
Scores
- Center and Side Timems
- Display time for 75 percent correct in the center and side part, where a trial is right only when both answers are right.
- Lower means less time was needed
- Center Timems
- Display time for 75 percent correct in the center part.
- Lower means less time was needed
- Clutter Timems
- Display time for 75 percent correct when the dot sits among outlined squares. Null when the part was off.
- Lower means less time was needed
- Sum of the Three Timesms
- The center, center and side, and clutter times added together. Null unless all three exist.
- Lower means less time was needed
- Center and Side Ceilingflag
- 1 when 75 percent was not reached at the longest time, so the longest time is reported.
- The true time is longer than the one reported
- Center and Side Floorflag
- 1 when 75 percent was passed at the shortest time, so the shortest time is reported.
- The true time may be shorter than the one reported
- Center Ceilingflag
- 1 when 75 percent was not reached at the longest time of the center part.
- The true time is longer than the one reported
- Center Floorflag
- 1 when 75 percent was passed at the shortest time of the center part.
- The true time may be shorter than the one reported
- Clutter Ceilingflag
- 1 when 75 percent was not reached at the longest time of the clutter part.
- The true time is longer than the one reported
- Clutter Floorflag
- 1 when 75 percent was passed at the shortest time of the clutter part.
- The true time may be shorter than the one reported
- Center Percent by Time%
- Percent correct at each display time of the center part, keyed by the planned time in ms.
- Rises with the display time
- Center and Side Percent by Time%
- Percent of trials with both answers right at each display time of the center and side part.
- Rises with the display time
- Clutter Percent by Time%
- Percent of trials with both answers right at each display time of the clutter part.
- Rises with the display time
- Center Accuracy at the Longest Time%
- Share correct at the longest display time of the center part.
- Under 80% is flagged for review
- Side Accuracy, Center and Side%
- Share of side positions right on trials with the center answer right, in the center and side part.
- Higher is better
- Side Accuracy, Clutter%
- Share of side positions right on trials with the center answer right, in the clutter part.
- Higher is better
- Completed Trialstrials
- Trials with every question answered.
- Under 90% of the planned trials invalidates the session
- Planned Trialstrials
- Test trials in the session's plan.
- Set by the settings
- Frame Intervalms
- Median interval between display frames.
- 16.7 ms at 60 Hz
- Refresh RateHz
- Refresh rate from the frame interval.
- Set by the screen
- Dropped Frame Rate%
- Share of display and mask frames the browser dropped.
- Above 5% is flagged for review
- Displays on Time%
- Share of displays shown for the frames requested.
- Under 90% is flagged for review
Use and evidence
123 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, down 26% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 168 of 395 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 21 |
| 2024 | 27 |
| 2023 | 19 |
| 2022 | 26 |
| 2021 | 30 |
| 2020 | 22 |
| 2019 | 26 |
| 2018 | 35 |
| 2017 | 45 |
| 2016 | 38 |
| 2015 | 39 |
| 2014 | 35 |
| 2013 | 45 |
| 2012 | 36 |
| 2011 | 30 |
| 2010 | 38 |
| 2009 | 25 |
| 2008 | 25 |
| 2007 | 17 |
| 2006 | 22 |
| 2005 | 23 |
| 2004 | 12 |
| 2003 | 10 |
| 2002 | 15 |
| 2001 | 12 |
| 2000 | 6 |
Use grade C
100 to 299 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade B
At least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 14
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 83
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 53
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.
- Trial
- A cross for 800 ms, the display, random lines for 300 ms, then the answers with no time limit.
- Parts
- Center only; center and side; center and side among 47 outlined squares (a setting, on as standard). A trial with a side dot is right only when both answers are right.
- Display times
- 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 and 21 frames of a 60 Hz screen, about 33 to 350 ms, converted to whole frames at the measured refresh rate. The frames requested and measured are saved on every trial.
- Order
- The display times are a fixed list set before the session. Every time appears equally often, in an order drawn from the session's seed.
- Trials
- 6 at each display time in each part (standard; 4 to 10), so 108 in all.
- Shapes
- One ring with a level bar or an upright bar, drawn for this test, with the same ink and size.
- Side dot
- A plain dot on one of 8 positions, as far from the center as the window allows, up to 380 px. The distance is saved in pixels on every trial.
- Answers
- Click a shape or press F or J, then click a side position. Both questions are asked on every trial with a side dot.
- Practice
- 4 trials with feedback at the longest display time before each part.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: field_of_view_speed_test from the scored run. The center part is a choice of two shapes (chance 50%); a side trial is right only with the shape and one of 8 positions (chance 1 in 16). Answers have no time limit. Fewer than 90% of the planned trials invalidate. Accuracy under 80% at the longest display time of the center part, more than 5% of display and mask frames dropped, or under 90% of displays shown for the frames requested is flagged and withholds the percentile.
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). An answer under 200 ms is faster than a simple visual reaction, so it cannot reflect the item. Following response-time effort screening for untimed tests (Wise and Kong 2005), the session is invalid only when at least half the answers are that fast. The score reads percent correct at each display time, so each time needs most of its trials. At the longest display time the shape is easy to see, so a low score there means the person was not attending, not that the display was too brief. Display times are whole screen frames, so a display that drops frames changes what was shown.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Trials at each display time | 6 | 4 to 10 |
| Include the part with clutter | On | On or off |
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.
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Field of View Speed Test in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Ball et al., 1988), with the standard settings (trials at each display time: 6; include the part with clutter: On). The main score was center and side time (display time for 75 percent correct in the center and side part, where a trial is right only when both answers are right).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Ball, K. K., Beard, B. L., Roenker, D. L., Miller, R. L., & Griggs, D. S. (1988). Journal of the Optical Society of America A, 5(12), 2210-2219. https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAA.5.002210How much can be taken in during one fixation, with distractors and a second task.
- Sekuler, R., & Ball, K. (1986). Visual localization: Age and practice. Journal of the Optical Society of America A, 3(6), 864-867. https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAA.3.000864Locating a target among distractors.
- Owsley, C., Ball, K., McGwin, G., Sloane, M. E., Roenker, D. L., White, M. F., & Overley, E. T. (1998). Visual processing impairment and risk of motor vehicle crash among older adults. JAMA, 279(14), 1083-1088. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.279.14.1083Dividing attention under brief displays in older drivers.
- Edwards, J. D., Ross, L. A., Wadley, V. G., Clay, O. J., Crowe, M., Roenker, D. L., & Ball, K. K. (2006). Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 21(4), 275-286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acn.2006.03.001A related task in 2,759 adults aged 65 to 94.
- Wood, J. M., & Owsley, C. (2014). Gerontology, 60(4), 315-318. https://doi.org/10.1159/000356753
- Aul, C., Brau, J. M., Sugarman, A., DeGutis, J. M., Germine, L. T., Esterman, M., McGlinchey, R. E., & Fortenbaugh, F. C. (2023). The functional relevance of visuospatial processing speed across the lifespan. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 8, 51. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-023-00504-yEight side positions and a mask after each display, in a task run on the web.
Source papers
- Ball KK, Beard BL, Roenker DL, Miller RL, Griggs DS (1988). Journal of the Optical Society of America A, 5(12):2210-2219.Paradigm source, Adults
Questions
How long does the Field of View Speed Test take?
About 8 to 10 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?
Center and Side Time, Center Time, Clutter Time, Sum of the Three Times, Center and Side Ceiling, Center and Side Floor, Center Ceiling, Center Floor, Clutter Ceiling, Clutter Floor, Center Percent by Time, Center and Side Percent by Time, Clutter Percent by Time, Center Accuracy at the Longest Time, Side Accuracy, Center and Side, Side Accuracy, Clutter, Completed Trials, Planned Trials, Frame Interval, Refresh Rate, Dropped Frame Rate and Displays on Time. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Field of View Speed Test used in research?
123 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, down 26% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 168 of 395 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade C). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.14.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Field of View Speed Test have?
In the published research, 14 papers report its test-retest reliability and 53 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade B in the ConductCognition test census).
Which settings can a researcher change?
Trials at each display time (4 to 10) and include the part with clutter (On or off). 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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