Math Processing Task
Description
A timed arithmetic verification task based on the UTC test battery. Participants solve simple addition and subtraction problems and judge whether the answer is greater or less than 5.
Measures: Arithmetic processing speed, mental calculation accuracy
Processing Speed Arithmetic
About This Test
Participants see arithmetic expressions (e.g., 3 + 4 - 2 =) and must quickly determine whether the result is less than or greater than 5. Problem complexity varies across blocks (2, 3, or 4 operations). Each block has a time limit (default 3 minutes) and per-problem deadline. Measures arithmetic processing speed and accuracy.
Test Details
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Scientific Background
Original Task References:
These references describe the original task that this PEBL implementation is based on.
- Perez, W. A., Masline, P. J., Ramsey, E. G., & Urban, K. E. (1987). Unified tri-services cognitive performance assessment battery: Review and methodology (DTIC/TR-87-007). Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory.
PEBL-Specific References:
These studies used the PEBL version of this task.
- Mueller, S. T. (2012). The PEBL Math Processing Task. Computer software retrieved from http://pebl.sf.net/battery.html
Data Output
The task produces a trial-by-trial CSV file and a text report with accuracy and RT by problem length.
mathproc-{subnum}.csv
Example Data
example-data.csv Primary
Trial-by-trial data for each math problem
| subnum | trial | feedback | val | length | stim | sum | resp | corr | tooslow | time | rt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| example | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2|2 | 4 | < 5 | 1 | 0 | 38931 | 974 |
| example | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 6|2 | 8 | > 5 | 1 | 0 | 40240 | 603 |
| example | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3|-1 | 2 | < 5 | 1 | 0 | 41612 | 666 |
| example | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 4|2 | 6 | > 5 | 1 | 0 | 42953 | 636 |
| example | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7|-6 | 1 | < 5 | 1 | 0 | 44353 | 694 |
| example | 6 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 4|5 | 9 | > 5 | 1 | 0 | 45670 | 613 |
| example | 7 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 6|1 | 7 | < 5 | 0 | 0 | 46904 | 528 |
| example | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7|-4 | 3 | < 5 | 1 | 0 | 48253 | 641 |
| example | 9 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3|1 | 4 | < 5 | 1 | 0 | 49516 | 558 |
example-report.txt Summary
Summary statistics: trials, accuracy, RT, and errors by problem length
---------------------------------------------- Summary for the PEBL Mathematical Processing Task Tue Mar 31 19:40:04 2026 PEBL Version 2.4 ---------------------------------------------- Participant code: example Time per block: 180 s ---------------------------------------------- Length 2 3 4 Number of trials 125 84 54 Total Correct 101 72 41 Total Errors 24 12 13 Total Too slow 2 0 2 Proportion Correct 0.808 0.857143 0.759259 RT Mean 741.384 1443.27 2636.78 RT Median 692 1406.5 2586.5 ----------------------------------------------
Sample data showing typical output format. Actual values will vary by participant.
About This Test
A timed arithmetic verification task based on the UTC test battery. Participants solve simple addition and subtraction problems and judge whether the answer is greater or less than 5.
Category: Processing Speed
Estimated Duration: 10 minutes
Available Translations: 7 languages
Documentation Status: Complete