Attention
Negative Priming Task
Also called: identity negative priming, ignored repetition, distractor inhibition task
Measure how much ignoring a shape slows the response to it next: participants answer the red one of two overlapping shapes and ignore the blue one.
4-5 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
- 190
- Evidence grade
- C
- Registered clinical studies
- 4
What it measures
Measures how much ignoring a shape slows the response to it on the next trial. Two outlined shapes overlap, and participants press the key for the red one and ignore the blue one. On about half the trials the red shape is the one just ignored.
Constructs
- Selective attention
- Inhibition of distractors
- Processing speed
Research uses
- Attention and aging research
- Within-study group comparison
- Research on inhibition in clinical groups
How the paradigm works
The negative priming task measures how ignoring something slows the response to it a moment later. Two outlined shapes overlap at the center of the screen, one red and one blue, and participants press the key for the red one and ignore the blue one. The four shapes are a circle, a square, a triangle and a star, answered with D, F, J and K; the keys and their shapes stay on the screen under every trial. This is the identity version of Tipper (1985), with blue in place of his green so the colors stay apart for people with red-green color blindness.
More about the paradigm
The trials run as one continuous sequence, so each trial follows the one before it. On ignored repetition trials the red shape is the shape that was blue on the trial before. On control trials both shapes are new. The blue shape is always new, and the red shape is never the one answered on the trial before, so neither condition repeats a response. A 500 ms cross comes before each trial, and the shapes stay until a response or 2,500 ms. The standard session is 120 trials, an opening trial and then the two conditions in a seeded random order, after 12 practice trials with feedback. Which shape is drawn on top, and the side each one is shifted to, vary at random and are saved with each trial.
The main score is the negative priming effect: mean correct response time on ignored repetition trials minus control trials, counting only trials whose trial before was answered correctly. Positive values mean slower responses to a shape just ignored. The effect is also given as a percent of the control mean, which allows for overall speed, and from medians. Accuracy in each condition and the difference in accuracy are reported. Responses under 100 ms count as anticipations. The effect is small and noisy for one person, so it is best used for group comparisons, such as studies of aging (Verhaeghen and De Meersman 1998).
Scores
- Negative Priming Effectms
- Mean correct response time on ignored repetition trials minus control trials, on trials after a correct answer.
- Positive values mean slower responses to a shape just ignored
- Ignored Repetition Response Timems
- Mean correct response time when the red shape was the blue shape on the trial before.
- Lower is faster
- Control Response Timems
- Mean correct response time when both shapes were new.
- Lower is faster
- Negative Priming Effect, Percent%
- The negative priming effect as a percent of the control mean.
- Positive values mean slower responses to a shape just ignored
- Negative Priming Effect, Mediansms
- Median correct response time on ignored repetition trials minus control trials.
- Positive values mean slower responses to a shape just ignored
- Accuracy%
- Share of all test trials answered with the key for the red shape.
- Higher is better
- Ignored Repetition Accuracy%
- Share of ignored repetition trials answered correctly, after a correct answer.
- Higher is better
- Control Accuracy%
- Share of control trials answered correctly, after a correct answer.
- Higher is better
- Negative Priming Error Effect%
- Control accuracy minus ignored repetition accuracy.
- Positive values mean more errors on a shape just ignored
- Mean Correct Response Timems
- Mean response time of correct answers on all test trials.
- Lower is faster
- Ignored Repetition Trials Usedtrials
- Correct ignored repetition trials after a correct answer, the trials the effect uses.
- Fewer than 20 is flagged
- Control Trials Usedtrials
- Correct control trials after a correct answer, the trials the effect uses.
- Fewer than 20 is flagged
- Anticipationscount
- Responses under 100 ms from the shapes' onset.
- Lower is better
- Missed Responsescount
- Trials with no key press within 2,500 ms.
- Lower is better
- Total Trialstrials
- Trials in the scored run.
- Informational
Use and evidence
190 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, down 15% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 128 of 395 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 42 |
| 2024 | 43 |
| 2023 | 40 |
| 2022 | 29 |
| 2021 | 36 |
| 2020 | 29 |
| 2019 | 43 |
| 2018 | 48 |
| 2017 | 67 |
| 2016 | 36 |
| 2015 | 43 |
| 2014 | 53 |
| 2013 | 43 |
| 2012 | 56 |
| 2011 | 41 |
| 2010 | 54 |
| 2009 | 47 |
| 2008 | 49 |
| 2007 | 45 |
| 2006 | 62 |
| 2005 | 51 |
| 2004 | 34 |
| 2003 | 52 |
| 2002 | 51 |
| 2001 | 39 |
| 2000 | 51 |
Use grade C
100 to 299 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
- 2
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 38
- 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.
- Shapes
- A circle, square, triangle and star drawn as outlines, two at a time on top of each other: one red to answer and one blue to ignore.
- Keys
- D, F, J and K, one for each shape, shown under the shapes on every trial.
- Fixation
- 500 ms.
- Display
- The shapes stay until a response or 2,500 ms.
- Trial mix
- 120 trials (standard; 80 to 200): an opening trial, then ignored repetition trials, where the red shape was blue on the trial before, and control trials with two new shapes, half each.
- Order
- A seeded random order, saved with the trial data. The red shape is never the one answered on the trial before, and the blue shape is always new.
- Practice
- 12 trials with feedback for 800 ms. No feedback in the test.
- Score
- Ignored repetition minus control mean correct response time, on trials after a correct answer.
Tipper (1985) used overlapping drawings of everyday objects in red and green. This version uses four plain shapes, blue in place of green so the colors stay apart for people with red-green color blindness, and a key for each shape.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: negative_priming_test from the scored run, D, F, J or K (chance 25%) within 2,500 ms, correctness from the recorded key for the red shape. 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. Fewer than 20 usable trials in either condition 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 effect is a small difference between two means, so it needs enough correct trials after a correct trial in each condition; the limit of 20 is a ConductScience choice.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Number of trials | 120 | 80 to 200 |
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 Negative Priming Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Tipper, 1985; Neill, 1977), with the standard settings (number of trials: 120). The main score was negative priming effect (mean correct response time on ignored repetition trials minus control trials, on trials after a correct answer).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Tipper, S. P. (1985). The negative priming effect: Inhibitory priming by ignored objects. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 37(4), 571-590. https://doi.org/10.1080/14640748508400920The identity version: the object ignored on one trial is the target on the next.
- Tipper, S. P., & Cranston, M. (1985). Selective attention and priming: Inhibitory and facilitatory effects of ignored primes. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 37(4), 591-611. https://doi.org/10.1080/14640748508400921
- Neill, W. T. (1977). Inhibitory and facilitatory processes in selective attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 3(3), 444-450. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.3.3.444An early report of the effect, in the Stroop task.
- Fox, E. (1995). Negative priming from ignored distractors in visual selection: A review. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2(2), 145-173. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03210958
- Mayr, S., & Buchner, A. (2007). Negative priming as a memory phenomenon. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 215(1), 35-51. https://doi.org/10.1027/0044-3409.215.1.35
- Verhaeghen, P., & De Meersman, L. (1998). Aging and the negative priming effect: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 13(3), 435-444. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.13.3.435The effect in younger and older adults.
Source papers
- Verhaeghen P, De Meersman L (1998). Aging and the negative priming effect: a meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 13(3):435-444.Paradigm source, Adults
Questions
How long does the Negative Priming Task take?
About 4 to 5 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?
Negative Priming Effect, Ignored Repetition Response Time, Control Response Time, Negative Priming Effect, Percent, Negative Priming Effect, Medians, Accuracy, Ignored Repetition Accuracy, Control Accuracy, Negative Priming Error Effect, Mean Correct Response Time, Ignored Repetition Trials Used, Control Trials Used, Anticipations, Missed Responses and Total Trials. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Negative Priming Task used in research?
190 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, down 15% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 128 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 Negative Priming Task have?
In the published research, 2 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 trials (80 to 200). 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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