What's Your IQ

EXAMPLE ROUND · PLAY TO SEE YOURS

Every response, plotted by speed

Each dot is one trial. Dots further right were slower. The gap between the two average lines is your interference effect: the time your brain spends resolving the clash between where the arrow is and where it points.

Same sideavg 509 ms

Conflictavg 605 ms

400 msreaction time700 ms

+96 msinterference effect

96%accuracy

1wrong-way presses

0timed out

ONE IDEA, MANY FORMS

What's clashing in each conflict task?

All of these pit an automatic reaction against the one you've been asked to give. Pick one to see its stimulus and where the conflict comes from.

Spatial Stroop

AnswerThe direction the arrow points.IgnoreWhere the arrow appears.Why it's hardLocation grabs attention automatically, so a left-side arrow pointing right pulls you towards the wrong answer.

WHAT THIS GAME TRAINS

Overriding an automatic pull

Where something appears pulls your response automatically. The spatial Stroop makes you answer the direction instead, measuring how quickly you resolve that conflict.

corestrongsomelight

coreInterference controlIgnoring the arrow's position and answering its direction.

strongResponse inhibitionHolding back the automatic side-matching response.

strongProcessing speedAnswering within the time limit.

someSpatial attentionLocating the arrow anywhere on the screen.

THE SAME SKILL, ELSEWHERE

Three places this skill turns up

Each one leans on a different part of what the game trains.

NavigationFollowing directions that conflict with what you see, like mirror images or maps turned around.Uses interference control

Staying on taskSticking to the right response when a distraction pulls you elsewhere.Uses response inhibition

Calm under pressureFast, accurate decisions when information conflicts.Uses processing speed

INSIDE YOUR BRAIN

The brain areas doing the work

Step through each area, or tap one below. The matching marker grows on the brain; dashed markers sit deep inside.

Side view of the brain with the four lobes shaded in different colours

Based on Gray's Anatomy, fig. 728 (public domain)

AREA 1 OF 4

1Anterior cingulatedeep, along the midline · deep inside

Acts as the brain's error alarm, noticing conflicts and mistakes so you can adjust. It also helps decide how much effort a task is worth.

ITS JOB IN THIS GAMESpots conflicts and mistakes and signals you to adjustAnterior cingulate detects the clash between position and direction, flagging that extra control is needed.

DID YOU KNOWIts error signal appears in brain recordings within about 100 ms of a wrong response.

ALL AREAS

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE