The HED Task Catalog is under development. IDs are not stable until formal release. Comments are welcome at github.com/hed-standard/hed-task/issues.

Wisconsin Card Sorting Task

HED task ID: hedtsk_wisconsin_card_sorting

Family: Rule use, planning and reasoning tasks

Also known as: Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, WCST, Card Sorting Task

Sort cards by a hidden rule (color, form, or number) using only correct/incorrect feedback; after runs of correct sorts the rule silently switches. Perseverative errors index set-shifting.

Description

The WCST tests cognitive flexibility, set-shifting, and learning from feedback. Participants match cards displaying varying numbers of colored symbols to four reference cards according to an unannounced sorting rule (color, shape, or number). After 10 consecutive correct sorts, the rule changes without warning. Feedback (“correct”/“incorrect”) is provided after each sort. The test measures categories completed, perseverative errors (continued use of the previous rule), non-perseverative errors, and the ability to maintain set. It is the gold-standard clinical test of prefrontal executive function.

Inclusion test

An experiment is an instance of this task when its procedure matches, it manipulates at least one of the listed variables, and it records at least one of the listed measures.

Procedure

Cards vary on three dimensions (color, form, number). Participants sort cards to match a target according to an undisclosed rule (e.g., color), receiving feedback. After a run of correct sorts, the rule changes without warning.

Manipulation

Number of sorting categories; number of consecutive correct before shift; ambiguous cards; computerized vs. manual administration.

Measurement

Categories completed; perseverative errors (continuing to sort by old rule); total errors; trials to first category.

Variations

Named versions that change what the participant experiences or does. The identifier of a variation is hedvar_<task>__<variation>.

Variation

Description

Justification

Standard WCST (128 Cards)

hedvar_wisconsin_card_sorting__standard_wcst_128_cards

Full version with 128 cards, sorting to four reference cards.

Canonical 128-card version with shifting sorting rules

Short Form WCST (64 Cards)

hedvar_wisconsin_card_sorting__short_form_wcst_64_cards

Abbreviated version maintaining psychometric properties.

64-card abbreviated version; recognized efficient form

Modified WCST with Explicit Cues

hedvar_wisconsin_card_sorting__modified_wcst_with_explicit_cues

Varying amounts of information about sorting rules to decompose set-shifting components.

Explicit cues about sorting dimension; tests rule use vs. rule discovery

Berg Card Sorting Test

hedvar_wisconsin_card_sorting__berg_card_sorting

Simplified version used in developmental research.

Simplified precursor with fewer cards and dimensions; named related instrument

Intra-/Extra-Dimensional Set Shifting (IED)

hedvar_wisconsin_card_sorting__intra_extra_dimensional_set_shifting_ied

CANTAB version explicitly separating intra-dimensional (within-feature) from extra-dimensional (across-feature) shifts.

CANTAB analog with distinct dimension-shifting structure; different stimuli and shift types

Reversal-Only WCST

hedvar_wisconsin_card_sorting__reversal_only_wcst

Simplified two-rule version focusing on reversal learning component.

Only reversal phase; isolates reversal from acquisition

Probabilistic WCST

hedvar_wisconsin_card_sorting__probabilistic_wcst

Feedback is probabilistic rather than deterministic; increases learning difficulty.

Sorting feedback probabilistic rather than deterministic; different uncertainty structure

Cognitive processes

This task is designed to engage the following processes:

Key references

  • Nyhus, E., & Barcelo, F. (2009). The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the cognitive assessment of prefrontal executive functions: A critical update. Brain and Cognition, 71(3), 437-451. (DOI, PubMed)

Further references

  • Lange, F., Seer, C., & Kopp, B. (2017). Cognitive flexibility in neurological disorders: Cognitive components and event-related potentials. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 83, 496–507. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Bishara, A. J., Kruschke, J. K., Stout, J. C., Bechara, A., McCabe, D. P., & Busemeyer, J. R. (2010). Sequential learning models for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task: Assessing processes in substance dependent individuals. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 54(1), 5–13. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Figueroa-Vargas, A., Cárcamo, C., Henríquez-Ch, R., et al. (2020). Frontoparietal connectivity correlates with cognitive flexibility during the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. NeuroImage, 218, 116938.

  • Kopp, B., Steinke, A., & Visalli, A. (2020). Cognitive flexibility and N2/P3 event-related brain potentials. Scientific Reports, 10, 9859. (DOI, PubMed)