Executive Function
Hearts and Flowers Task
Also called: hearts and flowers test, heart and flower task, dots task, Davidson dots task
Measure rule switching and inhibition: participants press on the same side for a heart and the opposite side for a flower, in single-rule and mixed blocks.
5-6 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
- 13
- Evidence grade
- C
- Registered clinical studies
- 10
What it measures
Measures holding two rules in mind and switching between them. A heart or a flower appears on the left or right: for a heart, participants press the key on the same side, and for a flower, the key on the opposite side. Hearts come first, then flowers, then both mixed.
Constructs
- Cognitive flexibility
- Inhibitory control
- Working memory for rules
Research uses
- Child development and education research
- Executive function outcomes in intervention studies
- Within-study group comparison
How the paradigm works
The hearts and flowers task measures holding two simple rules in mind, resisting the pull to press on the side where a picture appears, and switching between the rules. A red heart or a red flower appears on the left or right of the screen. For a heart, participants press the key on the same side (F for left, J for right); for a flower, they press the key on the opposite side. The task was introduced by Davidson and colleagues (2006) and is used from the preschool years to adulthood.
More about the paradigm
Three blocks run in a fixed order: hearts only, flowers only, then hearts and flowers mixed. Each block starts with its rule, a picture of it, and four practice trials with feedback; when fewer than three are right, the rule is shown and practiced again, up to three times. Each trial is a 500 ms cross, 500 ms of blank, then the picture for 750 ms, which is also the time to answer, as Wright and Diamond (2014) report for this task. A setting gives 1,500 ms for children of 6 and younger. The standard session has 20 trials in each single-rule block and 40 in the mixed block, with pictures and sides balanced and a seeded order.
The main score is accuracy in the mixed block, where both rules apply and switch without warning; missed and early answers count as errors. Accuracy and mean correct response time are reported for each block, with the cost of the flowers block over the hearts block, the mixing cost (mixed-block trials that repeat the picture against the single-rule blocks) and the switch cost (mixed-block trials that change the picture against those that repeat it). Younger children's differences show mostly in accuracy and adults' mostly in response time (Davidson et al., 2006). Responses under 100 ms count as anticipations. Scores support research and do not diagnose.
Scores
- Mixed Block Accuracy%
- Share of mixed-block trials answered with the right key within the picture's time; missed and early answers count as errors.
- Higher is better
- Hearts Block Accuracy%
- Share of hearts-block trials answered right.
- Under 80% is flagged
- Flowers Block Accuracy%
- Share of flowers-block trials answered right.
- Higher is better
- Mixed Block Response Timems
- Mean response time of correct answers in the mixed block.
- Lower is faster
- Hearts Block Response Timems
- Mean response time of correct answers in the hearts block.
- Lower is faster
- Flowers Block Response Timems
- Mean response time of correct answers in the flowers block.
- Lower is faster
- Flowers Costms
- Flowers block minus hearts block mean correct response time: the cost of answering on the opposite side.
- Larger means more slowing on the opposite side
- Mixing Costms
- Mean correct response time on mixed-block trials that repeat the picture before them, minus the two single-rule blocks.
- Larger means more slowing when both rules apply
- Switch Costms
- Mean correct response time on mixed-block trials that change the picture, minus those that repeat it.
- Larger means more slowing on a change of rule
- Mixed Block Heart Accuracy%
- Share of hearts answered right in the mixed block.
- Higher is better
- Mixed Block Flower Accuracy%
- Share of flowers answered right in the mixed block.
- Higher is better
- Switch Trial Accuracy%
- Share of mixed-block trials that change the picture answered right.
- Higher is better
- Repeat Trial Accuracy%
- Share of mixed-block trials that repeat the picture answered right.
- Higher is better
- Anticipationscount
- Answers under 100 ms from the picture's onset. They count as errors.
- Lower is better
- Missed Answerscount
- Trials with no answer while the picture showed.
- Lower is better
- Total Trialstrials
- Trials in the scored run, across the three blocks.
- Informational
Use and evidence
13 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract. That ranks it 354 of 395 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2015 | 1 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2013 | 0 |
| 2012 | 0 |
| 2011 | 0 |
| 2010 | 1 |
| 2009 | 1 |
| 2008 | 0 |
| 2007 | 0 |
| 2006 | 0 |
| 2005 | 0 |
| 2004 | 0 |
| 2003 | 0 |
| 2002 | 0 |
| 2001 | 0 |
| 2000 | 0 |
Use grade E
Fewer than 30 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade C
At least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 0
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 2
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 10
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.
- Pictures
- A red heart or a red flower, 220 px left or right of the center, drawn in code.
- Rules
- Heart: the key on the same side. Flower: the key on the opposite side. F is left and J is right.
- Timing
- A 500 ms cross, 500 ms of blank, then the picture for 750 ms, the time to answer; 1,500 ms as a setting for children of 6 and younger.
- Blocks
- Hearts, then flowers, 20 trials each (standard; 12 to 40), then 40 mixed trials (standard; 33 to 80), half hearts and half flowers.
- Practice
- 4 trials with feedback for 800 ms before each block; with fewer than 3 right, the rule and practice repeat, up to 3 times.
- Order
- Pictures and sides balanced within each block, in a seeded random order saved with the trial data.
- Score
- Share of mixed-block trials answered right within the picture's time, with response times and switch costs.
The heart and flower are our own drawings, and the block lengths are a setting: Davidson and colleagues (2006) used 12, 12 and 33 trials, and the standard here is longer for steadier scores in adults.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: hearts_flowers_test from the scored run, F or J (chance 50%) while the picture shows, correctness from the recorded key for the picture's rule. Below chance invalidates and not above chance is flagged. One key on 90% of answers invalidates when accuracy is not above chance. Missed responses and responses under 100 ms follow the timed-test rule. Under 80% right in the hearts block 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). Missed responses and responses under 100 ms keep the platform's timed-test rule: more than max(3, 25%) missed responses or more than max(2, 20%) responses under 100 ms invalidate, and any is flagged. A response under 100 ms cannot be a reaction to the stimulus. The hearts block asks only for a press on the picture's own side, so many errors there suggest the rules were not followed; Roebers (2022) excluded children under 80% correct in that block. The limit is a ConductScience choice taken from that study.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Trials in the hearts block and in the flowers block | 20 | 12 to 40 |
| Trials in the mixed block | 40 | 33 to 80 |
| Picture time (ms) | 750 ms (standard) | 750 ms (standard), 1,500 ms (children of 6 and younger) |
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 Hearts and Flowers Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Davidson, Amso, Anderson and Diamond, 2006), with the standard settings (trials in the hearts block and in the flowers block: 20; trials in the mixed block: 40; picture time (ms): 750 ms). The main score was mixed block accuracy (share of mixed-block trials answered with the right key within the picture's time; missed and early answers count as errors).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Davidson, M. C., Amso, D., Anderson, L. C., & Diamond, A. (2006). Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: Evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching. Neuropsychologia, 44(11), 2037-2078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.02.006The task: congruent, incongruent and mixed blocks, with global and local switch costs.
- Wright, A., & Diamond, A. (2014). An effect of inhibitory load in children while keeping working memory load constant. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 213. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00213The timing: a 500 ms cross, 500 ms of blank and the picture for 750 ms, or 1,500 ms at age 6.
- Diamond, A., Barnett, W. S., Thomas, J., & Munro, S. (2007). Preschool program improves cognitive control. Science, 318(5855), 1387-1388. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1151148The task as an outcome in an education study.
- Camerota, M., Willoughby, M. T., & Blair, C. B. (2019). Speed and accuracy on the Hearts and Flowers task interact to predict child outcomes. Psychological Assessment, 31(8), 995-1005. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000725Scoring speed and accuracy together.
- Roebers, C. M. (2022). Six- to eight-year-olds' performance in the Heart and Flower task: Emerging proactive cognitive control. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 923615. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.923615The 80% hearts-block limit the validity check uses.
Source papers
- Davidson MC, Amso D, Anderson LC, Diamond A (2006). Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching. Neuropsychologia, 44(11):2037-2078.Paradigm source, 4 to 13 years and young adults
Questions
How long does the Hearts and Flowers Task take?
About 5 to 6 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?
Mixed Block Accuracy, Hearts Block Accuracy, Flowers Block Accuracy, Mixed Block Response Time, Hearts Block Response Time, Flowers Block Response Time, Flowers Cost, Mixing Cost, Switch Cost, Mixed Block Heart Accuracy, Mixed Block Flower Accuracy, Switch Trial Accuracy, Repeat Trial Accuracy, Anticipations, Missed Answers and Total Trials. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Hearts and Flowers Task used in research?
13 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract. That ranks it 354 of 395 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade E). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.14.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Hearts and Flowers Task have?
In the published research, 0 papers report its test-retest reliability and 10 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade C in the ConductCognition test census).
Which settings can a researcher change?
Trials in the hearts block and in the flowers block (12 to 40), trials in the mixed block (33 to 80) and picture time (ms) (750 ms (standard), 1,500 ms (children of 6 and younger)). 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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