Rule Switch

Rule Switch is built on the task-switching paradigm, a measure of cognitive flexibility — how smoothly you shift between two different rules. The same digit means different things depending on which rule is active, so when the rule changes you have to drop one way of thinking and pick up another. Researchers such as Rogers and Monsell (1995) find a reliable “switch cost”: people are slower and make more errors on the trial right after a rule change.

Cognitive domain: Executive Control

A digit appears with the current rule shown above it. Under ODD/EVEN, judge whether it is odd or even; under LOW/HIGH, judge whether it is low (1–4) or high (6–9). The rule switches without warning — a new banner slams in — and the two buttons change meaning with it. Answer as many as you can in 45 seconds.

Your score is how many you classify correctly in 45 seconds. On the MindSprint scale, around 30 is top-tier. The trials right after a switch are where the clock and your error rate bite — smoothing out that switch cost is the whole game.

• Read the rule banner first every time, especially right after it changes.
• Do not autopilot the previous rule — the digit hasn’t changed, but its meaning has.
• Glance at the button labels on a switch; they now mean something different.
• Recover fast after a switch instead of freezing — that hesitation is the switch cost.

What is task switching?

Alternating between two mental rules; it taps cognitive flexibility, part of executive function.

What is a “switch cost”?

The extra time and errors on the trial just after the rule changes — a robust, well-studied effect.

Is it used in research?

Yes — in studies of executive function, aging, and attention.