Posner Cueing Test — Free Online 80-Trial Attention Shift Task

The spatial cueing task introduced by Michael Posner in 1980 is a classic experiment showing that attention can move to a location before the eyes do. When something flashes, attention automatically latches onto that spot, and if the target then appears elsewhere it takes time to disengage and move it. This test measures the speed and flexibility of that attention shift.

While you watch a cross in the center, one of two boxes on the left and right flashes for 0.1 seconds, and a star then appears on one side. You press the button for the side the star appeared on within 1.5 seconds. After 12 practice trials come 80 main trials: 58 valid-cue trials where the star appears on the flashed side, 14 invalid-cue trials where it appears opposite, and 8 catch trials where the box flashes but no star follows.

The cueing effect is how much slower you respond on invalid than on valid trials. It shows how strongly attention was captured by the cue and how quickly it moved again, while errors on catch trials show how well you withhold a response when no signal comes.

The cueing effect is the median reaction time on invalid-cue trials minus the median on valid-cue trials, in milliseconds. The app describes 0 ms or below as no effect, under 20 ms as small, under 60 ms as the typical range and 60 ms or more as large. A typical effect means attention automatically moved to the flashed location — a common feature of a healthy attention system.

Impulsive responses combine false alarms on catch trials (pressing when no star appeared) and anticipations made less than 0.1 seconds after the star. Zero is described as none, up to 3 as few, and more as many. The overall score converts accuracy (55%), speed (30%) and impulse control (15%) into a 0-100 scale, with speed anchored at 300 ms for 100 points and 800 ms for 0.

Touch latency adds equally to valid and invalid conditions, so it hardly affects the cueing effect, but it can feed into the speed score. Accuracy commonly improves over the first attempt or two as the rule becomes familiar, so look at the trend across repeated measurements on the same device.

Attention shifting is sensitive to fatigue and arousal. When you are short on sleep or it is late at night, disengaging attention from the cue takes longer and the cueing effect grows; after a lot of caffeine, false alarms and anticipations on catch trials can increase. Overall reaction time naturally lengthens with age, and on a small screen the two boxes sit closer together, which can change the size of the effect.

Soundary saves your results and shows the change from your previous test. Repeating every one to two weeks on the same device at a similar time, and following the trend in cueing effect and impulsive-response count, helps you tell daily fluctuation from steady change. This is a self-check, not a diagnostic tool.

If, even after resting well, your responses slow markedly on invalid cues or you keep pressing on catch trials, and in daily life you find it hard to move attention off one thing or often act before a signal comes, consider discussing an attention assessment with a professional.