Social Cognition
Trait Inference Task
Also called: spontaneous trait inference, actor-trait binding, false-recognition paradigm
Measure whether inferred traits are remembered as words that were read. Compare false recognition for the same person and another studied person.
5-7 minUntimed
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
- 38
- Evidence grade
- D
- Registered clinical studies
- 0
Adam
Waited until every guest had finished speaking before asking a question.
Adam
patient
Was this word in the sentence?
Yes · NoWhat it measures
Measures whether people remember inferred traits as words they read. Participants study behavior sentences beside fictional names, then decide whether a word appeared with each name. False recognition is compared for traits implied about the same person and traits implied about another person.
Constructs
- Spontaneous trait inference
- Actor-trait binding
- False recognition
Research uses
- Social cognition research
- Person memory studies
- Within-study group comparison
How the paradigm works
The Trait Inference Task measures whether a trait inferred from someone's behavior is later remembered as a word that was actually read. Participants study original behavior sentences beside fictional given names under memory instructions, without being asked to judge personality. Later, a name and a word appear together. The participant decides whether that exact word appeared in the sentence shown with that name.
More about the paradigm
The standard session has 24 sentences, shown for 8 seconds each, followed by 24 recognition choices. Sixteen sentences imply a trait without naming it; eight explicitly include a trait word. At recognition, eight implied traits stay with their original actor and eight are paired with another studied actor. The eight explicit words provide recognition checks. Each actor and probe word appears once at recognition. The seed assigns names, selects and orders items, and reassigns traits with no actor keeping their own word in the other-actor condition. A setting uses 12 sentences and four probes per condition.
The primary measure is the same-actor false-recognition rate minus the other-actor false-recognition rate, in percentage points. A positive difference means more false recognition when the implied word is paired with its original actor. Both false-recognition rates, shown-word hits, overall accuracy, completion and median response time are also reported. Response times include reading and deciding.
Scores
- Trait Binding Effect%
- Same-actor minus other-actor false recognition, in percentage points.
- Positive means greater false recognition for the original actor
- Same-Actor False Recognition%
- Yes answers to unshown trait words implied about the original actor.
- Descriptive research measure
- Other-Actor False Recognition%
- Yes answers to unshown trait words implied about a different studied actor.
- Descriptive research measure
- Shown-Word Recognition%
- Yes answers to trait words actually shown in the named actor’s sentence.
- Descriptive research measure
- Recognition Accuracy%
- Correct Yes/No answers across all conditions.
- Descriptive research measure
- Median Response Timems
- Median recognition time, excluding answers under 100 ms.
- Descriptive research measure
- Words Answeredcount
- Recognition probes with a recognized answer and complete item data.
- Descriptive research measure
- Words Setcount
- Planned recognition probes.
- Descriptive research measure
- Answer Rate%
- Answered probes as a percentage of those planned.
- Descriptive research measure
- Anticipationscount
- Recognition answers under 100 ms.
- Descriptive research measure
Use and evidence
38 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, down 14% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 399 of 582 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 |
| 2024 | 10 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2022 | 17 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2019 | 10 |
| 2018 | 10 |
| 2017 | 11 |
| 2016 | 9 |
| 2015 | 9 |
| 2014 | 6 |
| 2013 | 11 |
| 2012 | 10 |
| 2011 | 16 |
| 2010 | 8 |
| 2009 | 7 |
| 2008 | 2 |
| 2007 | 6 |
| 2006 | 6 |
| 2005 | 6 |
| 2004 | 5 |
| 2003 | 4 |
| 2002 | 2 |
| 2001 | 3 |
| 2000 | 3 |
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
- 6
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 0
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.
- Items
- 24 original behavior sentences with fictional names: 16 imply a trait without naming it and 8 include a trait word. No photographs are used.
- Session
- 24 study sentences and 24 recognition choices by default, or 12 of each. Recognition has equal same-actor, other-actor and shown-word conditions.
- Study
- Each sentence is displayed for 8 seconds under memory instructions. Participants make no trait judgment during study.
- Recognition
- One probe per actor and word. Other-actor traits are reassigned among studied actors with no original pair retained. Choose Yes only if the exact word appeared with that name.
- Practice
- 1 separate study example, then 2 word-recognition examples after study with feedback. Test probes have no feedback.
- Timing
- A 500 ms lead-in precedes study. A 300 ms gap follows study items and choices. Recognition has no response deadline.
- Languages
- Sentences and instructions are written in English, Italian, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese.
Our version uses fictional names and new sentences instead of the published face materials. The main score is the same-actor minus other-actor false-recognition rate. It describes these items, not personality; percentiles are off.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: trait_inference_recognition from the most complete run. False recognition of implied traits is the outcome, so overall accuracy and repeated answers are not exclusion rules. Fewer than 75% of planned words answered invalidates; other incomplete runs and fewer than 50% of shown words recognized are flagged. Answers under 200 ms on at least half of 4 or more answers invalidate. A hidden tab is flagged.
Why these rules
The task separates recognition errors for inferred words from recognition of words actually shown. A low false-recognition rate is a valid outcome, and a high one is not itself invalid. Completion, shown-word checks and fast-response thresholds are ConductScience choices.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Sentences | 24 sentences (standard) | 12 sentences, 24 sentences (standard) |
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, tablets and phones. 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 Trait Inference Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Todorov A, Uleman JS, 2002), with the standard settings (sentences: 24 sentences). The main score was trait binding effect (same-actor minus other-actor false recognition, in percentage points).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Todorov, A., & Uleman, J. S. (2002). Spontaneous trait inferences are bound to actors' faces: Evidence from a false recognition paradigm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(5), 1051-1065. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.83.5.1051False recognition of inferred traits and actor-specific binding. Our names, sentences, session length and display timing are adaptations.
Source papers
- Todorov, A., & Uleman, J. S. (2002). Spontaneous trait inferences are bound to actors' faces: Evidence from a false recognition paradigm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(5), 1051-1065.Paradigm source, Adults in the source studies
Questions
How long does the Trait Inference Task take?
About 5 to 7 minutes, as listed in the test library.
What device does a participant need?
Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Trait Binding Effect, Same-Actor False Recognition, Other-Actor False Recognition, Shown-Word Recognition, Recognition Accuracy, Median Response Time, Words Answered, Words Set, Answer Rate and Anticipations. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Trait Inference Task used in research?
38 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, down 14% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 399 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 Trait Inference Task have?
In the published research, 0 papers report 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?
Sentences (12 sentences, 24 sentences (standard)). 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, with its words in the same language. 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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