Cognition · ~2 minutes

Measure your reaction time.

Simple visual reaction time: wait for GO, press as fast as you can. One practice trial, five scored, median result against internal illustrative references — with your device's latency honestly acknowledged.

1 practice + 5 trialsMedian scoredOn-device

The panel below will say Wait… for a random moment, then flip to GO! — press it (or hit Space) the instant it does. Pressing early is a false start and the trial repeats. Your score is the median of five trials, so one slow tap won't sink you.

About this instrument

What this measures — and what it doesn't

Measures
Simple reaction time

Processing speed at its rawest: register a signal, act. It's one of psychology's oldest measurements, correlates modestly with broader cognitive ability, and declines predictably with fatigue and age.
Method
Five scored trials, median result

Random 1.5–3.5 s waits defeat rhythm-guessing; one practice trial burns off surprise; presses under 90 ms are treated as anticipatory and repeated; false starts are discarded, never scored. The median resists a single bad tap.
Result
Milliseconds and trial spread

Your result shows the median, fastest response and spread across five scored trials in milliseconds. Screen, browser and input delays are included. Compare attempts on the same device; this is not a population or clinical comparison.
Limits
Honest limits

Every number includes your device's input and display latency — often 30–80 ms — so absolute values aren't comparable across devices, and none of this is a clinical or driving-fitness assessment. Caffeine, sleep, and age all move the needle.

Scoring & evidence

How the reaction-time result is built

After one practice trial, the tool scores five valid reaction trials. Each trial waits a randomized 1.5–3.5 seconds before the visual go signal. Responses below 90 ms are treated as anticipatory rather than genuine simple reactions. The final result emphasizes the median reaction time instead of the mean, making one unusually slow or fast trial less able to distort the summary.

Your result shows the median, fastest response and spread across five scored trials in milliseconds. Screen, browser and input delays are included. Compare attempts on the same device; this is not a population or clinical comparison.

Browser rendering, display refresh rate, touchscreen or mouse latency, background processes, fatigue, caffeine, and attention can all change a millisecond result. Repeating the task under similar device conditions is more meaningful than comparing one run across different hardware.

Interpretation standard: observations describe this task; internal indices are model or response summaries, not population rankings. Use the report for education and reflection. See the methodology for limitations.

Go deeper

The science behind this instrument

Performance

Sleep, stress & test performance

Why a rough night measurably slows the same nervous system.

Read Data

How IQ changes with age

Processing speed is the domain that shifts most across a life — here's the shape of it.

Read Domains

Pattern recognition & fluid reasoning

Where raw speed ends and reasoning begins.

Read

Questions

Before you begin

What does a reaction time test measure?

Simple visual reaction time — how quickly you can respond to a single expected signal. It measures alertness and basic motor response, distinct from processing speed, which measures how fast you can perform an actual mental comparison across many items.

Why is the median used instead of the average?

One distracted trial can wreck an average. The median of five scored trials ignores a single outlier in either direction, which makes it the more honest summary of your true speed in a short test.

What counts as a good reaction time?

Why does my device matter?

Speed is the tempo. See the whole score.

The full reasoning assessment maps reasoning across pattern, numeric, verbal, spatial, and memory domains.

Start the assessment

AurorIQ Suite Hub

One result is one angle. Build a fuller profile.

Recommended next

Processing Speed Test

Compare simple reaction time with higher-level visual throughput.

Continue your profile Cognition

Reasoning Assessment

Add reasoning domains that reaction time alone cannot measure.

Continue your profile Productivity

Chronotype Test

Check whether time-of-day preference may shape alertness.

Continue your profile Learning

Focus Test

Measure vigilance and impulse-control performance next.

Continue your profile

Compare the same device

Display refresh, browser scheduling and input hardware affect measured milliseconds. Use the same device and input method when comparing sessions; a faster click is not a measure of overall intelligence.

Try Processing Speed Test Compare all assessments

How should I use this result?

This is an educational task or self-assessment, not a diagnosis. Read the instructions above for the format and approximate time. Scores describe this task or your reported preferences; research on the underlying concept does not validate this implementation.

The engine calculates results in your browser. Completed report snapshots are saved locally in My AurorIQ; planning tools require an explicit save. You can export or delete saved data at /passport/. Separate hosting, analytics, advertising and optional sharing have separate data implications. Read the privacy notice, methodology, or report an error.