Attention
Location Probability Task
Also called: Location probability learning, probability cueing, spatial probability learning
Measure how repeated target locations guide visual search. Compare search times in likely and less likely regions, then ask which region participants noticed.
12-18 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
- 66
- Evidence grade
- D
- Registered clinical studies
- 1
What it measures
Measures learning of likely target locations during visual search. Participants find a turned T among L shapes. The target appears more often in one region before becoming equally likely everywhere. Scores the search-time advantage and awareness of the likely region.
Constructs
- Spatial attention
- Statistical learning
- Visual search
Research uses
- Attention research
- Implicit learning research
- Aging and visual search research
How the paradigm works
Find a turned T among eleven L shapes and report whether its stem points left or right. During acquisition, the T appears in one region on half the trials. In the final two blocks, every region is equally likely. Fresh layouts and three items per region keep the regularity in target location rather than a repeated display.
More about the paradigm
The main measure is the other-region minus likely-region response time during the last half of acquisition. Early learning, transfer, accuracy and a contrast excluding immediate region repetitions are reported separately. Correct responses from 100 to 6000 ms enter the time contrasts. Two questions after search ask whether participants noticed uneven locations and which region was most likely. These answers describe awareness; they do not establish unconscious learning.
Scores
- Probability cueingms
- Mean correct response time in other regions minus the likely region, in the last half of acquisition blocks.
- Positive means faster search in the likely region
- Early cueingms
- The same response-time contrast in the first half of acquisition blocks.
- Positive means faster search in the likely region
- Transfer cueingms
- The same response-time contrast in the final two blocks with equal target probabilities.
- Positive means a persisting likely-region advantage
- Cueing without immediate repeatsms
- Late acquisition contrast excluding trials with the same target region as the preceding trial.
- Helps separate learning from immediate location repetition
- Likely-region response timems
- Mean correct response time in the likely region during late acquisition.
- Lower means faster search
- Other-region response timems
- Mean correct response time in other regions during late acquisition.
- Lower means faster search
- Search accuracy%
- Correct answers divided by all search trials, including omissions.
- Higher means more correct answers
- Likely-region accuracy%
- Accuracy in the likely region during acquisition.
- Higher means more correct answers
- Other-region accuracy%
- Accuracy in other regions during acquisition.
- Higher means more correct answers
- Noticed uneven locations%
- One for yes, zero for no, missing for unsure or no answer.
- Describes reported awareness
- Identified likely region%
- One if the chosen region is the likely region, otherwise zero.
- Describes reported awareness
- Chosen regioncount
- Zero: top left; one: top right; two: bottom left; three: bottom right.
- Category code
- Usable likely-region trialscount
- Correct late acquisition trials with a response time from 100 to 6000 ms in the likely region.
- Informational
- Usable other-region trialscount
- Correct late acquisition trials with a response time from 100 to 6000 ms in other regions.
- Informational
- Anticipationscount
- Responses faster than 100 ms.
- Informational
- Omissionscount
- Search trials without a direction response.
- Informational
- Trials scoredcount
- Search trials in the scored run.
- Informational
- Planned trialscount
- Number of search trials set before the run.
- Informational
Use and evidence
66 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, up 65% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 318 of 582 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 14 |
| 2024 | 14 |
| 2023 | 18 |
| 2022 | 6 |
| 2021 | 14 |
| 2020 | 10 |
| 2019 | 6 |
| 2018 | 7 |
| 2017 | 10 |
| 2016 | 7 |
| 2015 | 7 |
| 2014 | 8 |
| 2013 | 7 |
| 2012 | 8 |
| 2011 | 1 |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2009 | 4 |
| 2008 | 1 |
| 2007 | 0 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2005 | 0 |
| 2004 | 0 |
| 2003 | 0 |
| 2002 | 2 |
| 2001 | 0 |
| 2000 | 0 |
Use grade D
30 to 99 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade D
Little published measurement evidence found.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 0
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 8
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 1
Measured on ConductCognition
Pooled across the studies that feed our platform norms, by device group. A figure needs 50 or more people.
No pooled figure yet.
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 0.39.0, counted 8 November 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Search display
- One left- or right-pointing T among eleven rotated L shapes on a 6 by 6 grid. Each region contains three items. Layouts are generated afresh.
- Acquisition
- Six blocks of 48 trials as standard. The target is in the likely region on 24 trials per block and each other region on 8. Left/right answers are balanced within every region. Researchers can choose 4 to 8 acquisition blocks.
- Transfer
- Two final blocks of 48 trials, with 12 targets per region per block. No announcement reveals the probability change.
- Timing and response
- Twelve practice trials give feedback. A 500 ms fixation precedes search; responses have a 6000 ms limit. Press F/J, click or tap a direction. Rest between blocks.
- Scores and awareness
- The main score compares mean correct response time in other and likely regions in the last half of acquisition. Early, transfer and nonrepeat contrasts, accuracy, omissions and two awareness answers are separate.
- Data
- Save the seed, likely region, phase, block, target position and direction, distractor positions and rotations, previous target region, response, input, time and display size.
This version uses a shorter fixed session and a compact browser display instead of the published laboratory protocol. No repeated layout is deliberately trained. Compare the same devices and settings. Scores support research and do not diagnose.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: location_probability_search from the scored run. Left/right answers have chance level 1/2. Below chance invalidates and not above chance is flagged. One direction on 90% of answers invalidates when accuracy is not above chance. Awareness questions are not search trials. Fewer than 20 usable trials per region type in the late acquisition blocks and incomplete runs are flagged. Missed responses and responses under 100 ms follow the timed-test rule.
Why these rules
The target direction is balanced within regions, so accuracy can be checked against chance. Probability learning is a reaction-time contrast; an absent or reversed effect and an incorrect awareness answer do not invalidate a run.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Search blocks before transfer | 6 | 4 to 8 |
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 Location Probability Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Jiang, Swallow, Rosenbaum and Herzig, 2013), with the standard settings (search blocks before transfer: 6). The main score was probability cueing (mean correct response time in other regions minus the likely region, in the last half of acquisition blocks).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Jiang, Y. V., Swallow, K. M., Rosenbaum, G. M., & Herzig, C. (2013). Rapid acquisition but slow extinction of an attentional bias in space. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 39(1), 87-99. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027611Acquisition and extinction of a likely-region search advantage, with awareness questions after search.
Source papers
- Jiang, Y. V., Swallow, K. M., Rosenbaum, G. M., & Herzig, C. (2013). Rapid acquisition but slow extinction of an attentional bias in space. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 39(1), 87-99.Paradigm source, Adults
Questions
How long does the Location Probability Task take?
About 12 to 18 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?
Probability cueing, Early cueing, Transfer cueing, Cueing without immediate repeats, Likely-region response time, Other-region response time, Search accuracy, Likely-region accuracy, Other-region accuracy, Noticed uneven locations, Identified likely region, Chosen region, Usable likely-region trials, Usable other-region trials, Anticipations, Omissions, Trials scored and Planned trials. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Location Probability Task used in research?
66 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, up 65% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 318 of 582 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade D). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.39.0, counted 8 November 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Location Probability Task have?
In the published research, 0 papers report its test-retest reliability and 1 registered clinical study uses 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?
Search blocks before transfer (4 to 8). 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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