Simon Task
Participants make a left/right response to a non-spatial feature of a stimulus (e.g. its colour) while ignoring the stimulus's left or right location. Responses are slower and less accurate when stimulus location and response side conflict (incongruent) than when they correspond (congruent), even though location is irrelevant. The cost indexes spatial stimulus–response compatibility and response-level conflict.
- Defining contrast
simon-effect-rt (condition-difference)- Family
- congruency
- Human review
- sourced — unreviewed
- Executable test
- verify:task — an implementation can be driven and judged against this spec
- Schema
- spec version 1
- Catalog entry
- Simon Task in the paradigm catalog
Where this spec stands
This record is sourced. The ladder below is the human-review axis
only — a passing executable test never moves a record up it.
sourcedLiterature-linked, drafted with LLM assistance or by a contributor, and unreviewed. The honest default.corroboratedIndependently cross-checked against the cited sources, but not signed by a named expert.expert-annotatedAll three claims attested by named experts. Derived, never self-declared.contestedA named expert disputes at least one claim. A real outcome, kept visible.
Implementations driven through this spec
| Implementation | Platform | Verdict | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| demos/butterfly_simon | Pavlovia / PsychoJS | non-conforming · contrast-not-logged | a real Simon, but congruency is never logged — the not-logged/semantic floor; conforms only if the author emits the derived congruency |
Origin reference
- Simon, J. R., & Rudell, A. P. (1967). Auditory S-R compatibility: The effect of an irrelevant cue on information processing. Journal of Applied Psychology, 51(3), 300-304. doi:10.1037/h0020586
Review this specification
Three separable claims: does the contrast identify the paradigm, is it a defensible measure of the named construct, and are the psychometric numbers correctly conditioned? Attest one, contest another — a split outcome is a real result.