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Auditory Ace

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Stephanie
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Auditory Ace—one of the exercises from BrainHQ’s Intelligence category—is what’s known as an auditory n-back test. In Auditory Ace you will be presented with auditory information about playing cards. The information is presented one card at a time. Your task is to decide if the current card information matches the card information presented a specific number of steps back in the sequence.

A screenshot from Auditory Ace. A deck of cards is to the left, with an arrow indicating that a card from the deck moves to a Display space. The card in the display space is placed face up and an icon is present, indicating that the type of card will be spoken. From the Display space, another arrow pointing down and to the right indicates a card would move to a holding space at the bottom of the window. Another arrow pointing up and to the right from the holding space indicates that a card would move then to a comparison space. On the far left side of the window is a large, dark Yes button, and on the far right side of the window is a large, dark No button.

There are a few of things to be aware of in this exercise:

  • The Deck: On the left there is a deck of cards that are placed facedown. The card art is there to indicate that the card is face down. 
  • The Equal Sign: This shows you which two cards are going to be compared.
  • The Display Space: One card will be drawn from the deck and be placed in this space. A face up card will always have a speaker icon, indicating that audio will be played when the card enters this space.
  • The Holding Spaces: These are spaces that cards can be held in when waiting to be moved to the Comparison Space. These cards will all be face down. 
  • The Comparison Space: This is the card that you have to compare to the Display Card. It sits to the right of the equal sign, and will remain face down.

Here’s how the exercise works:

  1. At the START screen, you’ll be shown what kinds of cards you’ll be asked to match in the Display and Comparison Spaces, and any Holding Spaces that the level will start with are presented at the bottom (not present for all levels). Select START to begin.
    A screenshot of a start screen from a level of Auditory Ace. At the top middle of the screen are two cards. The left card reads heart and has a speaker icon indicating that the word heart is spoken. The right card is a heart card. Below that in the center is a large, dark START button. Below the START button in the center is a card placed face down, indicating the holding space.
  2. A card is drawn from the deck and placed face up to the left of the equals sign, in the Display Space. While in the Display Space an audio clip will play. Remember this card’s audio.
    An animation from Auditory Ace. A card is drawn from the deck on the left, and is placed face up in the space to the left of the equals sign. On the card is a speaker icon, and a callout indicates the spoken word was Club.
  3. The card in the Display Space will then move to a Holding Space (if available) and be placed face down. Simultaneously, a new card is drawn from the deck and placed face up in the Display Space and an audio clip for this new card is played.
    An animation from Auditory Ace. The card to the left of the equals sign moves down to the bottom center of the screen and is placed face down in the holding space. Simultaneously a new card is drawn from the deck, this time a spade, and placed face up in the space to the left of the equals sign.
  4. The cards will continue to shift from the Display Space to the Holding Space, and then from Holding Space to Holding Space (if more than one is present). 
    An animation from Auditory Ace. A new card is drawn from the deck and a callout indicates it is a spade. It is placed face up in the space to the left of the equals sign. The card that was in the display space to the left of the equals sign shifts to the holding space in at the bottom center of the screen. The card that was in the holding space shifts to the space to the right of the equals sign. The No button flashes green, indicating that the user submitted the correct answer - the card on the left of the equals sign is a spade and the card to the right of the equals sign is revealed to be a club.
  5. Once there is a card in the Display Space and in the Comparison Space, your task is to determine if the face up Display card matches the face down Comparison card.
    An animation from Auditory Ace. A new card is drawn from the deck and a callout indicates it is a spade. It is placed face up in the space to the left of the equals sign. The card that was in the display space to the left of the equals sign shifts to the holding space in at the bottom center of the screen. The card that was in the holding space shifts to the space to the right of the equals sign. The Yes button flashes green, indicating that the user submitted the correct answer - the cards on both sides of the equals sign are both revealed to be spades.

If an incorrect answer is given you’ll hear a “bonk” sound, and the amount of cards you’ll be asked to remember in the sequence may be reduced (this is done by removing a Holding Space if there’s one present). If the correct answer is given you’ll hear a “boop” sound, and the amount of cards you’ll be asked to remember in the sequence may increase (this is done by adding another Holding Space). In both cases, the level then continues, repeating from Step 3 above.

Auditory Ace is what’s known as a Continuous Performance Task (CPT) exercise. This means that speed and accuracy are both important when you are selecting your answers. Because of this, there are two ways to be marked wrong:

  • Selecting the incorrect answer
  • Not answering correctly within the time limit

You can review the exercise video tutorial below:

Auditory Ace from BrainHQ from Posit Science on Vimeo.

As you progress through Auditory Ace it becomes more challenging in these ways:

  • The number of items to remember in the sequence increases
  • The information to remember for each item changes (suit, number, both)
  • The card information is presented faster

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