Episodic Memory
Verbal Learning Test
Measure list-learning across repeated study and recall trials with recognition checks and exportable raw responses.
6-8 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
- 2,503
- Evidence grade
- A
- Registered clinical studies
- 1,832
Recall Growth
What it measures
Measures list-learning across repeated study and recall trials, followed by recognition questions in the participant language.
Constructs
- Verbal learning
- Encoding across repetitions
- Immediate free recall
- Recognition memory
- Intrusion monitoring
Research uses
- Research batteries requiring list-learning endpoints
- Remote longitudinal memory tracking
- Language-sensitive participant workflows
- Raw recall export for investigator review
How the paradigm works
Verbal Learning measures acquisition across repeated presentations of a word list. Participants study a language-matched list, type remembered words after each learning trial, and complete recognition questions after the repeated recall phase.
More about the paradigm
The scoring emphasizes raw research endpoints: total correctly recalled list words, final-trial recall, learning slope, intrusions, and recognition accuracy. The implementation uses open stimulus packs and does not claim equivalence to proprietary or normed list-learning instruments.
This task supports self-administered study batteries where researchers need a practical verbal learning measure with English and Italian participant-facing content.
Scores
- Total Correct Recallcount
- Sum of correctly recalled target words across learning trials.
- Higher is better
- Final Trial Recallcount
- Correct target words recalled on the last learning trial.
- Higher is better
- Learning Slopecount
- Final-trial recall minus first-trial recall.
- Higher is better
- Intrusion Countcount
- Unique recalled words that do not match the target word list.
- Lower is better
- Recognition Accuracy%
- Proportion of recognition questions answered correctly.
- Higher is better
Use and evidence
2,503 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, up 14% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 10 of 670 test families in our census. The Grocery Trip Game page shows these counts too, as those of the published test the game is compared with. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 569 |
| 2024 | 487 |
| 2023 | 607 |
| 2022 | 413 |
| 2021 | 427 |
| 2020 | 468 |
| 2019 | 477 |
| 2018 | 438 |
| 2017 | 428 |
| 2016 | 392 |
| 2015 | 375 |
| 2014 | 372 |
| 2013 | 306 |
| 2012 | 314 |
| 2011 | 288 |
| 2010 | 259 |
| 2009 | 207 |
| 2008 | 215 |
| 2007 | 167 |
| 2006 | 189 |
| 2005 | 114 |
| 2004 | 117 |
| 2003 | 118 |
| 2002 | 85 |
| 2001 | 77 |
| 2000 | 93 |
Use grade A
1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade A
At least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 134
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 1,123
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 1,832
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 0.48.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: verbal_learning_recall typed recall and verbal_learning_recognition answers (2 choices). Recall has no chance level; the few recognition items cannot reach significance, so accuracy is not judged against chance in practice. Recalling nothing is flagged. Recognition answers under 200 ms on at least half the items invalidate. A hidden tab withholds the percentile.
Why these rules
Free recall has no options to guess between, and an empty recall can be a real result in amnesia, so it is flagged for review. The recognition answers are in a fixed order, so a repeated answer is not judged. An answer under 200 ms is faster than a simple visual reaction, so it cannot reflect the item. Following response-time effort screening for untimed tests (Wise and Kong 2005), the session is invalid only when at least half the answers are that fast. A hidden tab lets the study, delay or response timers run without the participant, so a percentile is withheld after one.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Learning trials | 3 | 1 to 5 |
| Study duration | 15,000 | 5,000 to 60,000 |
| Include recognition items | On | On or off |
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.
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Included in these batteries
Each battery runs this test with others in a fixed order, with standard settings.
- At-Home Memory Battery4 tests, 26 minutes per participant
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Verbal Learning task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.1.0, scoring version 1.0.0), with the standard settings (learning trials: 3; study duration: 15,000; include recognition items: On). The main score was total correct recall (sum of correctly recalled target words across learning trials).
Paradigm source: List-learning tradition; Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test paradigms.
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.1.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
Source papers
- No platform-matched normative source is currently seeded for this task in ConductCognition.Paradigm source, N/A
Questions
How long does the Verbal Learning Test take?
About 6 to 8 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?
Total Correct Recall, Final Trial Recall, Learning Slope, Intrusion Count and Recognition Accuracy. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Verbal Learning Test used in research?
2,503 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, up 14% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 10 of 670 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade A). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.48.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Verbal Learning Test have?
In the published research, 134 papers report its test-retest reliability and 1,832 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade A in the ConductCognition test census).
Which settings can a researcher change?
Learning trials (1 to 5), study duration (5,000 to 60,000) and include recognition items (On or off). 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.
Run this test in your next study
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