The Science Behind Focus Testing: Understanding Your Cognitive Assessment

Why Measure Focus and Attention?

In our digital age, attention has become one of our most valuable—and most threatened—cognitive resources. Research consistently shows that excessive social media use is associated with decreased attention span, reduced working memory capacity, and impaired cognitive control.

QuitStake's Focus Assessment uses a battery of five scientifically-validated cognitive tests to measure different aspects of your attention and focus. By taking these tests before and after using QuitStake's blocking features, you can objectively track improvements in your cognitive function.

Our Five-Test Battery

Each test in our battery measures a different aspect of cognitive function. Together, they provide a comprehensive picture of your attention and focus capabilities.

What It Measures

The Digit Span test measures your working memory capacity—the ability to temporarily hold and manipulate information in your mind. This is the cognitive system you use when remembering a phone number long enough to dial it, or following multi-step instructions.

How It Works

You'll see a sequence of digits displayed one at a time. After the sequence ends, you'll be asked to recall the digits either in the same order (forward span) or in reverse order (backward span). The test starts with short sequences and progressively increases in length until you make errors.

Scientific Background

The Digit Span test is a subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), one of the most widely used and validated cognitive assessments in psychology. It has been used in clinical and research settings for over 80 years.

Why It Matters for Social Media Detox

Research shows that heavy social media use is associated with reduced working memory capacity. The constant task-switching and information overload from social media can impair your brain's ability to hold and process information. Studies have found that participants who reduced their social media use showed improvements in digit span scores within 2-4 weeks.

What It Measures

The Stroop test measures your selective attention and inhibitory control—the ability to focus on relevant information while suppressing automatic but irrelevant responses. This is the cognitive skill you use when trying to concentrate on work while ignoring distracting notifications.

How It Works

You'll see color words (like "RED", "BLUE", "GREEN") displayed in different font colors. Your task is to identify the color of the text, not the word itself. For example, if you see the word "RED" displayed in blue ink, the correct answer is "blue."

Scientific Background

The Stroop test was developed by John Ridley Stroop in 1935 and remains one of the most cited experiments in cognitive psychology. The "Stroop effect"—the delay in reaction time when the word and color conflict—demonstrates the automaticity of reading and the cognitive effort required to override automatic responses.

Why It Matters for Social Media Detox

Social media trains your brain to respond to every notification and stimulus automatically. This can weaken your inhibitory control—your ability to resist impulses and stay focused. The Stroop test measures this crucial skill, and improvements in Stroop performance after reducing social media use indicate strengthened cognitive control.

What It Measures

The Trail Making Test (TMT) measures visual attention, processing speed, and cognitive flexibility (the ability to switch between different mental tasks). These skills are essential for complex problem-solving and multitasking.

How It Works

The test has two parts:

• Part A: Connect numbered circles (1→2→3→4...) in order as quickly as possible
• Part B: Alternate between numbers and letters (1→A→2→B→3→C...) in order

Part B is significantly harder because it requires you to constantly switch between two different sequences, measuring your cognitive flexibility.

Scientific Background

The Trail Making Test was originally developed by the U.S. Army in 1944 and later became part of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery. It's one of the most widely used neuropsychological tests and is sensitive to a wide range of cognitive impairments.

Why It Matters for Social Media Detox

Social media encourages rapid, shallow task-switching—jumping from post to post, app to app. While this might seem like good "multitasking," research shows it actually impairs deep cognitive flexibility. The Trail Making Test measures your ability to switch between tasks efficiently, and improvements indicate better executive function and reduced cognitive fragmentation.

What It Measures

The Continuous Performance Task measures sustained attention—your ability to maintain focus over an extended period. It also measures vigilance (detecting rare targets) and impulsivity (responding when you shouldn't).

How It Works

You'll watch a stream of letters appear on screen, one at a time. Your task is simple: tap/click only when you see the target letter (usually "X"). Don't respond to any other letters. The challenge is maintaining focus over 5+ minutes while targets appear only about 25% of the time.

Scientific Background

The CPT was developed in the 1950s and has become the gold standard for measuring sustained attention. It's widely used in ADHD diagnosis and research, as well as studies of attention in various populations.

Why It Matters for Social Media Detox

Social media is designed to provide constant stimulation—new posts, notifications, and content every few seconds. This trains your brain to expect frequent rewards and makes sustained attention on a single task feel boring and difficult. The CPT directly measures this ability, and improvements after reducing social media use indicate restored capacity for deep, focused work.

What It Measures

The MAAS measures your dispositional mindfulness—your tendency to be attentive and aware of present-moment experiences in daily life. Unlike the objective tests above, this is a self-report questionnaire that captures your subjective experience of attention.

How It Works

You'll answer 15 questions about how often you experience various states of mindlessness or automatic behavior. For example: "I find myself doing things without paying attention" or "I rush through activities without being really attentive to them."

Scientific Background

The MAAS was developed by Brown and Ryan in 2003 and has become one of the most widely used measures of mindfulness in psychological research. It has been validated across numerous populations and translated into over 20 languages.

Why It Matters for Social Media Detox

Social media use is often characterized by mindless scrolling—automatic, unconscious behavior that pulls you away from present-moment awareness. The MAAS captures this subjective experience of attention and mindfulness. Improvements in MAAS scores after reducing social media use indicate greater presence and awareness in daily life.

How We Calculate Your Focus Score

Your overall Focus Score (0-100) is calculated by combining results from all five tests using a weighted formula that prioritizes objective cognitive measures.

Score Weights

Why These Weights?

We weight objective cognitive tests (Digit Span, Stroop, Trail Making, CPT) more heavily than the subjective MAAS questionnaire because:

• • Objective tests are less susceptible to response bias
• • They measure actual cognitive performance, not self-perception
• • They're more sensitive to changes from interventions
• • They provide more reliable tracking over time

Normalization Process

Each test produces different raw scores (time in milliseconds, number of correct responses, etc.). We normalize these to a 0-100 scale using established norms from research literature:

• • Digit Span: Forward span of 3-12 digits maps to 0-80, backward span adds up to 20 bonus points
• • Stroop: Accuracy contributes 60%, low interference score contributes 40%
• • Trail Making: Part A and Part B times compared to age-adjusted norms
• • CPT: Hit rate (40%), false alarm rate (30%), response variability (30%)
• • MAAS: Average score (1-6) mapped linearly to 0-100

Academic References

Our focus assessment is built on decades of cognitive psychology research. Here are the key academic sources that inform our methodology: