Working Memory
Ignore-Suppress Task
Also called: Ignore/suppress paradigm, working memory interference control
Compare interference from patterns ignored during study with patterns dropped from memory after study.
12-16 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. Try it here first, with no account.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 11
- Evidence grade
- D
- Registered clinical studies
- 0
Keep group 1
Was it in the kept group?
What it measures
Measures interference when irrelevant patterns are ignored before study or dropped from memory afterward. Scores the extra time needed to reject a pattern from the irrelevant group.
Constructs
- Working memory interference control
- Selective encoding
- Removal from working memory
Research uses
- Working memory research
- Cognitive control research
- Aging research
How the paradigm works
A cue selects one of two groups of patterns. In Ignore, the cue comes before the study display, allowing irrelevant items to be filtered during encoding. In Suppress, both groups are studied before the cue selects the group to retain. Participants decide whether a probe belongs to the retained group. The irrelevant group and new probes both require No. The extra time to reject an irrelevant probe estimates interference.
More about the paradigm
This version uses original six-cell visual patterns in labeled groups instead of published word lists. The standard run has 64 probes, preceded by eight practice trials. Half the probes belong to the retained group; a quarter belong to the irrelevant group and a quarter are new. The group cue lasts 1 second, study 4.5 seconds, the second cue 1 second and retention 2 seconds. A probe allows 3 seconds for F or J.
The primary score is the correct-response median for irrelevant minus new probes in Suppress. Ignore cost and their difference are reported separately. Compare the two costs to study how selecting items before or after study changes interference. Their difference also reflects how much participants initially encode.
Scores
- Suppression interferencems
- Correct irrelevant-minus-new median response time in Suppress. Positive values mean slower irrelevant rejections.
- Informational
- Ignoring interferencems
- Correct irrelevant-minus-new median response time in Ignore.
- Informational
- Suppression minus ignoringms
- Suppression interference minus ignoring interference.
- Informational
- Suppress accuracy%
- Share of Suppress probes answered correctly, including omissions as errors.
- Informational
- Ignore accuracy%
- Share of Ignore probes answered correctly, including omissions as errors.
- Informational
- Accuracy%
- Share of all probes answered correctly.
- Informational
- Anticipationscount
- Responses under 100 ms, excluded from response-time estimates.
- Informational
- Missed probescount
- Probes without a response within 3 seconds.
- Informational
- Completed probestrials
- Probe rows in the selected run.
- Informational
Use and evidence
11 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract. That ranks it 448 of 495 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2022 | 5 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2011 | 2 |
| 2010 | 2 |
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2008 | 1 |
| 2007 | 0 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2005 | 1 |
| 2004 | 0 |
| 2003 | 0 |
| 2002 | 0 |
| 2001 | 0 |
| 2000 | 1 |
Use grade E
Fewer than 30 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade D
Little published measurement evidence found.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 1
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 2
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 0
Note on the counts: Original visual patterns; before/after-study selection, fixed settings. Research measure, no published norms..
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 0.22.0, counted 3 November 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Study
- Two labeled groups of 3 original patterns, shown together for 4,500 ms.
- Cues
- Ignore cues the retained group before study. Suppress cues it after study. Each cue screen lasts 1,000 ms; retention lasts 2,000 ms.
- Probes
- 64 scored probes as standard (32 to 128): 50% retained, 25% irrelevant and 25% new. Equal counts in Ignore and Suppress.
- Response
- F or J within 3,000 ms. Yes/No mapping and block order are counterbalanced by the session seed.
- Practice
- 8 trials with feedback, using separate items.
- Scores
- Correct irrelevant-minus-new median response times in each cue condition, their difference, accuracy, anticipations and omissions.
Compare interference when participants select a group before study with interference when they drop a group afterward. Original patterns and numbered groups adapt the source procedure. The difference between conditions also reflects how much participants initially encode.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: ignore_suppress_test from the longest run. Half the probes belong to the kept group, so chance is 50%. Below-chance accuracy invalidates; accuracy not above chance is flagged. A repeated key invalidates when accuracy is not above chance. Incomplete runs and fewer than four correct negative responses in any condition are flagged. Missed responses and responses under 100 ms follow the timed-test rule.
Why these rules
A correct answer depends on remembering group membership, not recognizing any studied pattern. Both cue conditions need enough correct irrelevant and new rejections to estimate their median difference. A hidden tab interrupts the fixed study periods.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Trials per negative probe type and cue condition | 8 | 4 to 16 |
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.
- No percentile. Scores and quality flags only. How norms work
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Ignore-Suppress Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Ahmari and colleagues, 2014), with the standard settings (trials per negative probe type and cue condition: 8). The main score was suppression interference (correct irrelevant-minus-new median response time in Suppress).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Ahmari, S. E., Eich, T., Cebenoyan, D., Smith, E. E., & Simpson, H. B. (2014). Assessing neurocognitive function in psychiatric disorders: A roadmap for enhancing consensus. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 115, 10-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2014.06.011Before-study and after-study selection, with kept, irrelevant and new probes.
Source papers
- Ahmari, S. E., Eich, T., Cebenoyan, D., Smith, E. E., & Simpson, H. B. (2014). Assessing neurocognitive function in psychiatric disorders: A roadmap for enhancing consensus. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 115, 10-20.Paradigm source
Questions
How long does the Ignore-Suppress Task take?
About 12 to 16 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?
Suppression interference, Ignoring interference, Suppression minus ignoring, Suppress accuracy, Ignore accuracy, Accuracy, Anticipations, Missed probes and Completed probes. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Ignore-Suppress Task used in research?
11 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract. That ranks it 448 of 495 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade E). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.22.0, counted 3 November 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Ignore-Suppress Task have?
In the published research, 1 paper reports its test-retest reliability and 0 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade D in the ConductCognition test census).
Does it report a percentile?
No. Scores and quality flags only.
Which settings can a researcher change?
Trials per negative probe type and cue condition (4 to 16). 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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