Maze Test
Version No: 2023.1
Issue Date: 2023-04-14
Purpose of this document
This file contains all the information to understand and
analyze the Maze Test. You will be able to find relevant
information about how this assessment task works,
what it measures, and all relevant data about the
variables recorded during the performance of the
activity.
Maze Test
CogniFit, Inc. © 2023
Maze Test
Task Info
In this section information about the task, its structure, and stimuli will be given.
Task Description
The Maze Test measures the ability to plan a multi-step solution and a visual-spatial
problem. The test consists of three mazes that increase in difficulty based on factors such
as maze size, minimum number of steps required, time allowed, and number of possible
dead-ends in each maze. The test-taker must successfully navigate the maze from start to
finish using the fewest number of steps possible. Additionally, they should aim to complete
the maze as quickly as possible.
The concept of this task is based on the Porteus Maze Test (Porteus, 1950), and on the
Route finding subtest of the NEPSY battery (Korkman et al., 1998).
You can try the Maze Test for free on this page. If you want more information about its
technical details, you can contact us at support@cognifi[Link].
Cognitive skills measured
The primary cognitive abilities measured by this task are Planning, Spatial Perception,
Executive Functioning, Foresight.,Monitoring and Updating.
This task contributes to the measurement of Spatial perception, Planning and Visual
scanning.
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Task Structure
The task is divided into two phases: a learning phase and a testing phase. The testing
phase is subdivided into three stages, and each stage represents a maze or labyrinth.
Below you can find the amount of minimum steps and maximum steps and time allowed to
pass each stage.
Steps Steps Time
Phase Stage Size
(minimum) (maximum) (maximum)
Learning 1 5x4 6 15 300s
1 10x7 17 40 40s
Testing 2 13x9 25 60 80s
3 18x13 35 90 120s
Task Stimuli
There are two different kinds of stimuli: the walls and the circles. The walls are thin white
lines that can't be crossed and define the shape of the layout. The circles are distributed
along all the intersections of the maze, and there are four types of circles: the orange one,
the white ones, the hollow ones, and the one with a solid star in it. The orange one
indicates the user's actual position. The white ones will indicate the user's possible
movements, so if the user presses on one white circle, it will become orange. The user is
allowed to move across the maze by pressing on these white circles. Hollow circles
indicate potential future movements that are not yet accessible. The circle with a solid star
in it indicates the goal of the maze, which the user must reach to complete the task.
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Variables Info
In this section details about the variables, their definition, range, and other pieces of
relevant information will be given.
Basic Variables
Basic variables refer to variables and indices that are commonly used in experimental
research and clinical settings.
Mazes completed
This variable measures the number of mazes finished, either perfectly or with additional
steps. It ranges from 0 to 3, and lower values indicate better performance.
Additional steps
This variable measures the average of the additional steps (as percentages) required to
complete each maze from the task. It ranges from 0 to 100, and lower values indicate
better performance.
Completion time
This variable measures the average time required to complete the mazes. It ranges from 0
to 120000 milliseconds, and lower values indicate better performance.
Omission errors
This variable measures the number of times the user couldn’t complete the maze in the
required time. It ranges from 0 to 3, and lower values indicate better performance.
Additional Variables
Additional variables refer to the variables and indices that are calculated by CogniFit for its
internal computation of results.
Mazes completed without additional steps
This variable measures the number of levels in which the maze was finished in the
minimum amount of steps required. It ranges from 0 to 3, and higher values indicate better
performance.
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Mazes completed with additional steps
This variable measures the number of mazes finished but not in the minimum amount of
steps required. It ranges from 0 to 3, and lower values indicate better performance if the
user completed the mazes.
Mazes not completed due to reaching max steps
This variable measures the number of mazes not finished because the user reached the
maximum amount of steps before completion. It ranges from 0 to 3, and lower values
indicate better performance.
Additional steps (direct score)
This variable measures the average number of additional steps the user needed to
perform the mazes. It ranges from 0 to 37, and lower values indicate better performance.
Steps in first maze
This variable measures the number of steps needed to complete the first maze. It ranges
from 17 to 40, and lower values indicate better performance.
Steps in second maze
This variable measures the number of steps needed to complete the second maze. It
ranges from 25 to 60, and lower values indicate better performance.
Steps in third maze
This variable measures the number of steps needed to complete the third maze. It ranges
from 35 to 90, and lower values indicate better performance.
Additional steps in first maze
This variable measures, as a percentage, the number of additional steps required, with
respect to the maximum possible number of additional steps (23 in this case), to complete
the first maze. It ranges from 0 to 100, and lower values indicate better performance.
Additional steps in second maze
This variable measures, as a percentage, the number of additional steps required, with
respect to the maximum possible number of additional steps (35 in this case), to complete
the second maze. It ranges from 0 to 100, and lower values indicate better performance.
Additional steps in third maze
This variable measures, as a percentage, the number of additional steps required, with
respect to the maximum possible number of additional steps (55 in this case), to complete
the third maze. It ranges from 0 to 100, and lower values indicate better performance.
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Completion time in first maze
This variable measures the time required to complete the first maze. It ranges from 0 to
40000 milliseconds, and lower values indicate better performance.
Completion time in second maze
This variable measures the time required to complete the second maze. It ranges from 0 to
80000 milliseconds, and lower values indicate better performance.
Completion time in third maze
This variable measures the time required to complete the third maze. It ranges from 0 to
120000 milliseconds, and lower values indicate better performance.
Validity Index
If the user's performance falls outside these ranges, it will be considered deviating from the
expected and may invalidate the assessment results.
Task validity
This variable represents the validity of the whole task, and it is ‘true’ only when all the
individual variables of the Validity Index of the task are ‘true’. Otherwise, it is ‘false’.
Omission errors validity
This variable measures the validity of the variable “Omission errors”, and it is ‘true’ when
its value is 0. Otherwise, it is ‘false’.
Mazes not completed due to reaching max steps validity
This variable measures the validity of the variable “Mazes not completed due to reaching
max steps”, and it is ‘true’ when its value is 0. Otherwise, it is ‘false’.
Completion time validity
This variable measures the validity of the variable “Completion time”, and it is ‘true’ when
its value is greater than 0 and lower than 120000 milliseconds.
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References
Porteus, S. D. (1950). The Porteus Maze Test and intelligence. Pacific Books.
Korkman, M., Kirk, U., & Kemp, S (1998). NEPSY: A developmental neuropsychological assessment.
Psychological Corporation.
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