Exercises / Memory
N-back test online, free
Hold a moving run of positions in mind and say whether the current one repeats the position from N steps back. Trains working memory under a steady pace.
Try it
Say Match when the highlighted cell repeats the cell from N steps earlier.
45 seconds. No account, nothing saved, nothing to install.
What does the N-back test measure?
An n-back task. It asks you to keep a short list updated as new items arrive, discarding the oldest. D-prime separates real sensitivity to matches from a habit of pressing Match often.
Headline measure: D-prime
Your score describes how you did on this task, on this day, at this difficulty. It is not an IQ score, a percentile or a medical measure. Read more on what the exercises measure.
How does the N-back test work?
Say Match when the highlighted cell repeats the cell from N steps earlier.
- One cell of a 3 by 3 grid lights up at a time.
- Answer Match when it is the same cell as N steps back, otherwise No match.
- The first few cells set up the run and are not scored.
Controls
- MMatch
- NNo match
- ← / →No match / Match
How is the N-back test scored?
Each set reports accuracy and d-prime. Scores compare you with your own earlier sets, never with other people.
Where does the N-back test come from?
Kirchner was studying how age changes short-term memory and built a task where items arrive one after another and you report the one from a few steps back. That running-memory idea became the N-back. Each new item forces you to drop the oldest one and shift everything along, which is why it loads working memory rather than simple recall.
