Item Order Task
Description
A short-term memory task testing both item and order memory for consonant sequences.
Measures: Short-term memory, item memory, order memory
Memory Processing Speed
About This Test
A string of seven consonants is displayed briefly, then after a delay a second string appears. Participants judge whether the two strings are identical (same) or different (different). Differences can be an item replacement (a new letter substituted) or an order swap (two adjacent letters exchanged). Measures short-term memory for both item identity and sequential order.
Test Details
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Scientific Background
Original Task References:
These references describe the original task that this PEBL implementation is based on.
- Lee, C. L., & Estes, W. K. (1977). Order and position in primary memory for letter strings. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 16(4), 395-418.
- Lee, C. L., & Estes, W. K. (1981). Item and order information in short-term memory: Evidence for multilevel perturbation processes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 7(3), 149.
PEBL-Specific References:
These studies used the PEBL version of this task.
- Mueller, S. T. (2011). The PEBL Item Order Task. Computer software retrieved from http://pebl.sf.net/battery.html
Data Output
Trial-by-trial data with target and comparison strings, condition, response, and accuracy.
itemorder-{subnum}.csv
Data Columns
| Column Name | Description |
|---|---|
| subnum | Participant ID |
| trial | Trial number |
| cond | Condition: 0=same, 1=item replacement (different letter), 2=order swap (adjacent letters swapped) |
| target | The original consonant string displayed for study |
| compare | The comparison string displayed at test |
| pos | Position of the change (0 for same trials) |
| resp | Participant response (same or different) |
| corr | Whether the response was correct (1) or incorrect (0) |
| abstime | Absolute timestamp in milliseconds |
| rt | Response time in milliseconds from comparison onset |
Example Data
| subnum | trial | cond | target | compare | pos | resp | corr | abstime | rt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| example | 1 | 0 | VPFLZNK | VPFLZNK | 0 | same | 1 | 51051 | 1319 |
| example | 2 | 1 | CXVNRLJ | YXVNRLJ | 0 | different | 1 | 58178 | 1611 |
| example | 3 | 2 | RYJVMLF | RYJVLMF | 5 | same | 0 | 65598 | 880 |
| example | 4 | 1 | VKZRDJM | VKZRDJT | 6 | different | 1 | 72299 | 2428 |
| example | 5 | 0 | PRTNMQD | PRTNMQD | 0 | same | 1 | 80537 | 2093 |
| example | 6 | 0 | KRJWZPV | KRJWZPV | 0 | same | 1 | 88440 | 1587 |
| example | 7 | 2 | LGJMPTZ | LGJMTPZ | 5 | same | 0 | 95838 | 1420 |
| example | 8 | 0 | NRGSTXB | NRGSTXB | 0 | same | 1 | 103067 | 1697 |
| example | 9 | 0 | PKBXHWD | PKBXHWD | 0 | same | 1 | 110573 | 1935 |
Sample data showing typical output format. Actual values will vary by participant.
About This Test
A short-term memory task testing both item and order memory for consonant sequences.
Category: Memory
Estimated Duration: 8 minutes
Available Translations: 7 languages
Documentation Status: Complete