Reaction time
Press the moment the signal appears. Nothing to work out, just speed.
Example
Example
An example to explore. No score or practice round is recorded.
7 trials
7 trials. Change the count above any time.
The moment the signal appears, press anywhere on the screen.
Keyboard: press Space when the signal appears. Esc goes back.
- Trials
- 0 / 7
- Active time
- 0:00
The moment the signal appears, press anywhere on the screen.
Round complete.
- Median reaction time
- Not enough data
- Trials on time
- Trials
- 0 / 7
- Active time
- 0:00
A response under 100 ms is a guess, not a reaction to the signal, so it is counted as an early press and left out of your reaction time.
Explore the method
Respond to the visible signal, not to a guess about when it should appear.
On by default unless you turn it off. Saved choices are kept. Shares starts, completions, replays and error categories. For ChatGPT visits, starts and completions may include the first QuickenBrain page and country. No answers, drawings or names.
How this data is usedWhen the signal appears, press as fast as you can, and the time from the signal to your press is measured in milliseconds. The signal comes after an unpredictable wait of 2 to 8 seconds, and a press before it is a false start that costs the trial. The result is the median of several trials, compared only with other people who used the same input: touch, mouse or keyboard.
About this practice
Common questions
What counts as a false start?
A press before the signal, during the 2 to 8 second wait. A response under 100 ms also counts as a false start, because it is a guess, not a reaction to the signal. A trial with a false start is left out of your reaction time.
What is a lapse?
A response of 500 ms or more, or no response inside the window. Lapses are counted and shown with the result. The 500 ms line is the standard threshold of the psychomotor vigilance test (Basner and Dinges, Sleep, 2011).
Why are touch, mouse and keyboard compared separately?
A finger on glass, a mouse button and a key each add a different delay, so their times are different measurements. Your result is compared only with other people who used the same input, and the page says which pool it is.
What is an average reaction time?
This page does not publish an average until its own pool has enough results for your input mode and trial count. When it does, the comparison comes from that pool, not from a number typed into the page.
When the signal appears, press as fast as you can, and the time from the signal to your press is measured in milliseconds. The signal comes after an unpredictable wait of 2 to 8 seconds, and a press before it is a false start that costs the trial. The result is the median of several trials, compared only with other people who used the same input: touch, mouse or keyboard.
After a wait, a signal appears, and you press as fast as you can: anywhere on the screen, or the space bar. The wait changes from trial to trial, so you cannot time it. A press during the wait is a false start and costs that trial.
What it measures, and what it does not
It measures simple reaction time: how long you take to answer one signal you were already waiting for, with one movement you had already chosen. Your eyes, your attention and your hand all go into it, and so does your device. It does not test deciding, remembering or reasoning.
What each level changes
Level 1 runs 6 trials and each level adds one, up to 13 at level 8. At every level the wait before the signal is 2 to 8 seconds, so the level changes only how long the run is. A longer run gives the median more trials to rest on.
What your result means
- Median reaction time: the middle of your valid responses, in milliseconds. One very fast or very slow trial moves a median less than it would move an average. It needs at least 3 valid responses.
- Trials on time: responses faster than 500 ms, with no false start.
- Lapses: responses of 500 ms or more, or no response at all.
- Early presses: presses during the wait, and responses under 100 ms, which come too soon to be a reply to the signal. They are left out of your median.
A finger on glass, a mouse button and a key each add their own delay. So when enough rounds have been saved, your round is compared only with rounds played on the same input and with the same number of trials, and the result names that group. To follow your own numbers, keep to one device and one input.
For what the timing can and cannot show, and where the 500 ms line comes from, read the guide Reaction time test: what the timing means. The lesson Wait for the signal covers false starts.
Report a problem
On by default unless you turn it off. Saved choices are kept. Shares starts, completions, replays and error categories. For ChatGPT visits, starts and completions may include the first QuickenBrain page and country. No answers, drawings or names.
How this data is used