Symbol Search

General Overview

About Symbol Search

Symbol-search tasks ask whether a person can scan small visual sets, compare symbols rapidly, and make a quick discrimination with minimal hesitation. The format is simple on purpose so that search efficiency, visual comparison, and decision speed become the main demands rather than language or complex reasoning.

This family belongs to the later processing-speed tradition in cognitive and neuropsychological testing, where examiners wanted measures that reduced language load and focused on rapid visual comparison. It complements older coding-style substitution tasks by emphasizing search and discrimination more than learned pairing.

In interpretation, symbol search is usually considered alongside coding and broader processing-speed discussion. That comparison helps show whether slower performance reflects visual scanning limits, decision speed, motor demands, or a more general speed-efficiency pattern.

This public version keeps the background and interpretive context visible while the interactive task remains locked.

See assessments Cognitive Domains What IQ Measures Coding History of IQ

Instructions

  • The 2 symbols on the left (gray background) are objectives.
  • Find the symbol on white background that matches either of the objectives.
  • There can be at most 1 match.
  • If there is no match, click NO.
  • There are 60 puzzles with a 2 minute time limit.
  • Be accurate, but as fast as possible.
  • There is a penalty for wrong answers.

Try it

Find the symbol that matches one of the objectives:

NO

Click the matching symbol.