Switcher Task
The PEBL Switcher task: A novel task to measure cognitive flexibility and rule switching.
A cognitive flexibility task where participants match colored letters displayed in different shapes based on shifting rules. Ten target stimuli appear on screen, each combining one of five colors (orange, skyblue, bluegreen, yellow, red), one of five letters (A-E), and one of five shapes (circle, square, plus, ellipse, star). On each trial, participants must click the target that matches the current stimulus according to the active rule (color, letter, or shape). The task includes practice followed by three test types: (1) consistent 2-rule switching (alternating between two rules), (2) consistent 3-rule switching (cycling through three rules in fixed order), and (3) random 3-rule switching (rules change unpredictably). Measures cognitive flexibility, rule learning, and switching costs.
| trials | Number of trials to test in each condition. (default: 12) |
| fieldwidth | Width, in pixels, of the field the targets appear in. (default: 400) |
| fieldheight | Height, in pixels, of the field the targets appear in. (default: 400) |
Accuracy: Error rate (numerr / numcues) for each test type.
Switch cost: Compare median RT between consistent and random 3-rule conditions - higher RT in random indicates switching cost.
Perseveration: matchlast errors indicate difficulty inhibiting previous rule.
Efficiency: Lower median RT with maintained accuracy indicates better cognitive flexibility.
Compare performance across test types (1-3) to assess rule learning and switching ability.
| gSubNum | block | type | try | successes | rule | lastrule | curid | currentval | correct | matchColor | matchLetter | matchShape | matchLast | curcolor | curletter | curshape | targcolor | targletter | targshape | clickcolor | clickletter | clickshapetargx | targx | targy | targid | corsum | incsum | time | rt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 999 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | color | NA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NA | orange | C | circle | orange | C | circle | orange | C | circle | 1144.72 | 804.717 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15499 | -1 |
| 999 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | color | NA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | orange | C | circle | orange | V | square | orange | V | square | 783.602 | 634.419 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16296 | 1842 |
| 999 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | letter | color | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | orange | V | square | yellow | V | plus | yellow | V | plus | 834.226 | 1073.31 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 19837 | 3541 |
| 999 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | shape | letter | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | yellow | V | plus | skyblue | Q | plus | skyblue | Q | plus | 1268.66 | 880.858 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 21848 | 2011 |
| 999 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | color | shape | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | skyblue | Q | plus | skyblue | T | circle | skyblue | T | circle | 935.096 | 420.736 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 23573 | 1725 |