Cognitive Process Series · Attention & Flexibility

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A trail making task — Part A (sequencing) and Part B (set-shifting)

Learning tool inspired by trail making tasks. Not a normed clinical instrument; produces no diagnostic scores. Its purpose is to make cognitive processes visible and discussable.

Two trails, one switch

On a hiking trail, a double blaze — two painted marks stacked on a tree — warns you the trail is about to change direction. This task has a double blaze in the middle of it.

Part A asks you to connect numbered dots in order: 1 → 2 → 3… It measures visual search, sequencing, and speed.

Part B asks you to alternate between two sequences at once: 1 → A → 2 → B → 3 → C… Same dots, same hand, same eyes — but now your mind has to switch tracks on every single step. The difference you feel between A and B is called the set-shifting cost, and noticing it in yourself is the whole point.

You'll do a short practice before each part. Timing runs from the moment the dots appear until you tap the last one. Wrong taps flash red and count as errors — just find the correct next dot and keep going.

Start with Part A practice

Part A

Double blaze ahead. From here on, every step is a switch: number, letter, number, letter. If you feel a tug back toward plain counting — that's your brain's old rule refusing to let go. Notice it.

Show the dots — timer starts

Part A

recording time 0 / 0

Practice complete

Practice again I'm ready for the real one

Part A complete

Part B uses the same number of dots. But instead of 1 → 2 → 3, you'll alternate: 1 → A → 2 → B → 3 → C…

Before you see it — make a prediction.

How much longer do you think Part B will take you than Part A? This is a calibration check: afterward we'll compare your prediction to what actually happened.

Lock in my prediction

Results

The shape of the switch

Your two trails

Same task on the surface. The pace chart below is where the difference lives.

Pace, step by step

Each bar is the time between one dot and the next. Watch what happens to the bars in Part B — that added height on every step is the set-shifting cost, made visible.

Part A step Part B → arriving at a number Part B → arriving at a letter

Reflection

Where in Part B did you feel the tug back toward plain counting? What did that pull feel like?

What strategy did you use to hold two sequences at once? (Saying "1-A, 2-B" under your breath? Chunking? Something else?)

Your prediction vs. your actual result: what does the gap (or the match) tell you about how well you know your own set-shifting?

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Switchback · Cognitive Process Series · a double blaze means the trail is turning