How the test works
- Five arrows appear in a row.
- Click the left or right button (or press ← or →) for the direction of the middle arrow only.
- In half the rounds the outer arrows point the other way, to distract you.
- There are 30 rounds. Your score is your average time; a wrong or missed answer adds half a second.
What it measures
The flanker task, developed by Barbara and Charles Eriksen in 1974, measures selective attention: focusing on one thing while ignoring what's next to it. Most people are slower and make more mistakes when the outer arrows point the opposite way; that difference is called the flanker effect.
What is a good score?
| Score | Faster than about |
|---|---|
| 390 ms | 99% of people (top 1%) |
| 490 ms | 90% of people (top 10%) |
| 560 ms | 75% of people |
| 650 ms | 50% of people (average) |
| 754 ms | 25% of people |
Estimated from typical scores for this kind of test.
Tips to improve
- Fix your eyes on the centre of the row before the arrows appear.
- Use the arrow keys if you have a keyboard; it's faster than clicking.
- Accuracy first: a mistake costs more than a slightly slower answer.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good flanker test score?
Around 650 ms is typical when clicking. Under 550 ms puts you in roughly the top 22%, and under 460 ms is in the top 6%.
What is the flanker effect?
It's the extra time it takes to answer when the surrounding arrows point the opposite way to the middle one. It shows how hard it is to ignore distractions right next to what you're looking at.