Executive Function
Maze Tracing Test
Also called: maze test, maze tracing task, computerized maze task, pencil maze task
Measure planning ahead: participants trace a line out of mazes our code grows, scored by entries into blind alleys and the time taken.
4-7 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
- 15
- Evidence grade
- C
- Registered clinical studies
- 4
What it measures
Measures planning ahead by tracing a way out of mazes. Participants draw a line from a dot inside each maze to the gap in its outer wall, on mazes our code grows by stated rules, from 5 by 5 to 10 by 10 cells. The main score is the number of entries into blind alleys, with the time taken.
Constructs
- Planning ahead
- Visuospatial search
- Inhibiting a first impulse
Research uses
- Executive-function research
- Impulsivity and self-control research
- Development and aging studies
- Within-study group comparison
How the paradigm works
The maze tracing test measures planning ahead: participants draw a line from a dot inside a maze to the one way out, a gap in the outer wall, and try not to go into blind alleys, paths that end with no way out. It follows the method of Porteus's maze test, in which a line is drawn from the start to the exit of mazes of rising difficulty without entering blind alleys (Tuvblad, May, Jackson, Raine and Baker, 2017). None of the Porteus mazes is used: every maze is grown by our code from the session's seed by stated rules.
More about the paradigm
Each maze is a square grid with exactly one route between any two cells. The start is the center cell, and the way out is chosen so that the route is at least twice as long as the maze is wide and has a set number of openings into blind alleys: two fewer than the cells across. The standard session has 12 mazes, two of each size from 5 by 5 to 10 by 10 cells, in order of size, after one 4 by 4 practice maze with feedback. The line is drawn with the mouse, a finger or a pen; it follows the paths' center lines and cannot cross a wall, and it enters a cell once it is 0.6 of a cell along the passage. Each maze has a time limit, 90 seconds as standard. Every pointer sample is kept with its time, as in the platform's drawing tasks, with the cells the line entered.
The main score is the number of entries into blind alleys over all test mazes, counted by replaying the cells the line entered on the saved maze. The mazes solved, the mazes solved with no entry, the total time, steps back along the route, times the pointer itself crossed a wall and lifts of the pointer are also reported. No score compares one maze with another or with earlier sessions. Presses under 100 ms after a maze appears are counted as anticipations. Scores support research and do not diagnose.
Scores
- Blind Alley Entriescount
- Steps from the route into a blind alley, over all test mazes.
- Lower is better
- Mazes Solvedcount
- Mazes where the line reached the way out before the time limit.
- Higher is better; an unsolved maze is flagged
- Mazes With No Entrycount
- Mazes solved without entering any blind alley.
- Higher is better
- Total Timeseconds
- Time from each maze's onset to the way out, summed; a maze not solved counts its time limit.
- Informational
- Steps Backcount
- Steps back along the route toward the start.
- Informational
- Pointer Wall Crossingscount
- Times the pointer itself crossed a wall while drawing; the line does not follow it.
- Informational
- Liftscount
- Times the pointer was lifted and pressed again during a maze.
- Informational
- Anticipationscount
- Mazes where the first press came under 100 ms after the maze appeared.
- Lower is better
- Planned Mazestrials
- Test mazes the session planned to show.
- Informational
- Total Mazestrials
- Test mazes shown in the scored run.
- Fewer than planned is flagged for review
Use and evidence
15 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, down 21% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 351 of 395 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 |
| 2023 | 5 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2014 | 1 |
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2012 | 5 |
| 2011 | 1 |
| 2010 | 9 |
| 2009 | 2 |
| 2008 | 4 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2004 | 4 |
| 2003 | 5 |
| 2002 | 4 |
| 2001 | 3 |
| 2000 | 5 |
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
- 8
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 31
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 4
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.
- Mazes
- Square grids with exactly one route between any two cells, grown from the session's seed by the growing-tree method, which extends the newest open cell with probability 0.75. The start is the center cell.
- Way out
- A gap in the outer wall, marked with an arrow, chosen so that the route is at least twice as long as the maze is wide and has exactly 2 fewer openings into blind alleys than the maze has cells across.
- Session
- 12 mazes (standard; or 6), two of each size from 5 by 5 to 10 by 10 cells, in order of size. One 4 by 4 practice maze with feedback first, the same for everyone.
- Drawing
- Mouse, finger or pen. The line follows the paths' center lines and cannot cross a wall. It enters a cell once it is 0.6 of a cell along the passage, and a new press continues it only within 0.75 of a cell of its end.
- Time
- 90 seconds per maze (standard; 60 to 180), with 500 ms of blank screen before each maze. The finished line stays for 800 ms.
- Data
- Every pointer sample with its time, stroke and pointer type, as in the platform's drawing tasks, and the cells the line entered, from which the scorer replays each maze.
In Porteus's maze test a try that enters a blind alley is repeated on a fresh copy of the maze, and the score rests on the hardest maze completed and the tries taken. Here the line may come back out of a blind alley, every entry is counted, and no maze is repeated. No Porteus maze is used.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: maze_tracing_test from the scored run, one per maze. A maze has no chance level, so accuracy is not judged against chance. A maze where the line never left the start before the time limit is a missed response: more than max(3, 25%) invalidate and any is flagged. A maze not solved in time, or a short run, is flagged for review.
Why these rules
There is no correct option to compare with chance, so accuracy is not judged against chance. Blind alley entries can only be counted on the way to the exit, so a maze left unsolved gives an incomplete count; a maze with no line at all is not an attempt and signals non-engagement.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Number of mazes | 12 (standard) | 12 (standard), 6 |
| Time per maze (seconds) | 90 | 60 to 180 |
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.
- 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 Maze Tracing Test in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Porteus maze method, as described by Tuvblad et al., 2017), with the standard settings (number of mazes: 12; time per maze (seconds): 90). The main score was blind alley entries (steps from the route into a blind alley, over all test mazes).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Tuvblad, C., May, M., Jackson, N., Raine, A., & Baker, L. A. (2017). Heritability and longitudinal stability of planning and behavioral disinhibition based on the Porteus Maze Test. Behavior Genetics, 47(2), 164-174. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-016-9827-xThe method: a line from the start to the way out without entering blind alleys, on mazes of rising difficulty.
Source papers
- Tuvblad C, May M, Jackson N, Raine A, Baker LA (2017). Heritability and longitudinal stability of planning and behavioral disinhibition based on the Porteus Maze Test. Behavior Genetics, 47(2), 164-174.Paradigm source, Children and adolescents in the source
Questions
How long does the Maze Tracing Test take?
About 4 to 7 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?
Blind Alley Entries, Mazes Solved, Mazes With No Entry, Total Time, Steps Back, Pointer Wall Crossings, Lifts, Anticipations, Planned Mazes and Total Mazes. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Maze Tracing Test used in research?
15 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, down 21% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 351 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 Maze Tracing Test have?
In the published research, 8 papers report its test-retest reliability and 4 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade C in the ConductCognition test census).
Does it report a percentile?
No. Scores and quality flags only.
Which settings can a researcher change?
Number of mazes (12 (standard), 6) and time per maze (seconds) (60 to 180). 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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