Focus on the middle

Find the center arrow and answer its direction, even when the surrounding arrows disagree.

Only the center arrow counts

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Center
The middle arrow points right. The other two do not change the answer.

A row of arrows appears. Choose Left or Right for the arrow exactly in the middle. The arrows around it are distractions, not votes for the answer.

First find the middle position, then read that arrow. In a row of three, it is the second arrow; in a row of five, it is the third.

The underline in this teaching picture points out the center. During a practice trial, the arrows have equal visual weight and no underline.

Lesson help

Find the center first. Answer its direction, not the direction shown by most arrows.

About this lesson

Try the method in a practice when you are ready.

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Only the center arrow counts

A row of arrows appears. Choose Left or Right for the arrow exactly in the middle. The arrows around it are distractions, not votes for the answer.

First find the middle position, then read that arrow. In a row of three, it is the second arrow; in a row of five, it is the third.

The underline in this teaching picture points out the center. During a practice trial, the arrows have equal visual weight and no underline.

Center
The middle arrow points right. The other two do not change the answer.

Ignore the majority direction

The third arrow points left. The two arrows on each side point right, but those four arrows do not decide your answer. Choose Left.

Do not answer the direction that appears most often. Return your attention to the same center position on each trial.

You choose when to answer; there is no response deadline. The three levels show three, five and seven arrows, with twenty-four trials in a round.

Center
Worked example: the center points left, while its neighbors point right.

Read this center arrow

Find the third arrow in this row of five. Which way does that arrow point?

There is no underline this time, just as in a practice trial. Choose the center arrow, not the direction of its neighbors.

New row: choose the direction of the middle arrow.

Try it

Which way does the center arrow point?

  1. Left
  2. Right
Show the answer

Right

Correct. The third arrow points right. The four neighboring arrows point left, but their direction does not change the answer.

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Practice Flanker