Response Inhibition
Prepared Reversal Task
Also called: preparing to overcome prepotency, POP task, cued response override, proactive control task
Measure how advance cues help people override a usual response. A cue says whether to follow or reverse an arrow, with short and long preparation times.
6-8 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
- 0
- Evidence grade
- C
- Registered clinical studies
- 3
What it measures
Measures how people prepare to override a usual response. A colored shape cues a same-direction or opposite-direction key press before a central arrow appears. Scores compare response speed and accuracy with short and long preparation times.
Constructs
- Proactive control
- Response inhibition
- Preparation
Research uses
- Cognitive control research
- Development and aging research
- Within-study comparisons
How the paradigm works
The Prepared Reversal Task measures using advance information to override a usual response. A green circle labeled SAME means respond in the direction of a central arrow; a violet diamond labeled OPPOSITE means respond in the other direction. F is left and J is right. Shape and translated labels accompany color. The cue precedes the arrow by 200 or 1,000 ms and stays visible during the response. Three quarters of trials require the same-direction response, establishing its prepotency.
More about the paradigm
The standard session has 16 practice trials with feedback, then four blocks of 48 test trials, with breaks. Each block balances arrow direction and preparation interval within both rules. A fixation lasts 400 ms; the arrow stays until a response or 1,500 ms. The study can set two to six blocks. This fixed browser adaptation draws on preparing-to-overcome-prepotency research; its cue colors, shape labels, timings and short-versus-long comparison are ConductScience choices.
Scores
- Reversal Costms
- Mean correct response time for opposite-direction responses minus same-direction responses.
- Positive means slower responses when reversing the arrow.
- Preparation Benefitms
- Reversal cost after a short cue minus reversal cost after a long cue.
- Positive means extra preparation reduced the reversal cost.
- Reversal Cost, Short Cuems
- Opposite minus same correct response time after a 200 ms cue.
- Informational
- Reversal Cost, Long Cuems
- Opposite minus same correct response time after a 1,000 ms cue.
- Informational
- Same-Direction RTms
- Mean correct response time after SAME cues.
- Informational
- Opposite-Direction RTms
- Mean correct response time after OPPOSITE cues.
- Informational
- Accuracy%
- Correct trials over trials answered at or after 100 ms or missed.
- Higher means more correct responses.
- Same-Direction Accuracy%
- Accuracy on SAME trials.
- Informational
- Opposite-Direction Accuracy%
- Accuracy on OPPOSITE trials.
- Informational
- Accuracy Cost%
- SAME accuracy minus OPPOSITE accuracy.
- Positive means more errors when reversing.
- Anticipationscount
- Responses under 100 ms.
- Excluded from response time and accuracy.
- Missed Responsescount
- Arrows with no answer within 1,500 ms.
- Counted as errors.
- Recorded Trialscount
- Test trials in the selected run.
- Informational
- Planned Trialscount
- Number of scheduled test trials.
- Informational
Use and evidence
0 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract. That ranks it 495 of 495 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2015 | 0 |
| 2014 | 1 |
| 2013 | 0 |
| 2012 | 0 |
| 2011 | 0 |
| 2010 | 2 |
| 2009 | 1 |
| 2008 | 1 |
| 2007 | 0 |
| 2006 | 0 |
| 2005 | 1 |
| 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
- 0
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 3
Note on the counts: Fixed browser cue-to-arrow adaptation; same and opposite responses with short and long preparation. 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.
- Cues
- Green circle and SAME, or violet diamond and OPPOSITE. Color, shape and translated words identify the rule.
- Timing
- 400 ms fixation, a 200 or 1,000 ms cue, then a central arrow until a response or 1,500 ms. The rule stays visible.
- Trials
- 4 blocks of 48 trials by default; 2 to 6 blocks. Each block contains 36 SAME and 12 OPPOSITE trials, with balanced directions and preparation intervals.
- Practice
- 16 trials with 700 ms feedback, followed by an 800 ms lead-in before each test block.
- Score
- Reversal cost: mean correct OPPOSITE response time minus SAME response time. Preparation benefit is the short-cue cost minus the long-cue cost. Accuracy, errors and condition means are also reported.
This browser version measures preparation for an instructed reversal. It uses a keyboard and fixed timings, with no percentile norms. Compare response time alongside accuracy.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
The scored run's arrow responses, with correctness recomputed from the cue rule and arrow direction. Left and right answers are balanced, so chance is one half. Fewer than 8 correct trials in a rule-by-preparation cell is flagged. Missed responses and responses under 100 ms follow the timed-test rule.
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. Comparing preparation intervals needs observations in each cell; eight is a ConductScience precision flag, not a published cutoff.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Blocks | 4 | 2 to 6 |
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 Prepared Reversal Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Barber and Carter, 2005; Bellato et al., 2022), with the standard settings (blocks: 4). The main score was reversal cost (mean correct response time for opposite-direction responses minus same-direction responses).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Barber, A. D., & Carter, C. S. (2005). Cognitive Control Involved in Overcoming Prepotent Response Tendencies and Switching Between Tasks. Cerebral Cortex, 15(7), 899-912. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhh189Preparing to overcome a prepotent response as a distinct cognitive-control demand.
- Bellato, A., Arora, I., Kochhar, P., Ropar, D., Hollis, C., & Groom, M. J. (2022). Heart Rate Variability in Children and Adolescents with Autism, ADHD and Co-occurring Autism and ADHD, During Passive and Active Experimental Conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52(11), 4679-4691. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05244-wAn advance cue instructs a response in the same or opposite direction to a target arrow.
Source papers
Questions
How long does the Prepared Reversal Task take?
About 6 to 8 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?
Reversal Cost, Preparation Benefit, Reversal Cost, Short Cue, Reversal Cost, Long Cue, Same-Direction RT, Opposite-Direction RT, Accuracy, Same-Direction Accuracy, Opposite-Direction Accuracy, Accuracy Cost, Anticipations, Missed Responses, Recorded Trials and Planned Trials. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Prepared Reversal Task used in research?
0 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract. That ranks it 495 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 Prepared Reversal Task have?
In the published research, 0 papers report its test-retest reliability and 3 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?
Blocks (2 to 6). 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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