Cognitive tests are, apparently, “very hard” for some people.
Over the weekend, U.S. President Trump discussed his testing experience during a Fox News interview, in which he claimed that he aced his assessment even though it was really, really difficult.
Turns out you can find out for yourself just how hard cognitive tests are. There are a bunch of different assessments professionals use to evaluate different brain functions, from memory and recall to visual/spatial and language skills — and while your best bet for official results is to visit a healthcare provider, you can test your own abilities online from the comfort of your couch.
So if you’re wondering whether you can successfully complete the very basic task of picking an elephant or a rhinoceros out of a lineup, try your hand at one or more of these tests.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
This is the assessment that Trump reportedly took. It tests memory, attention and recall, among other skills, and it’s validated to measure cognitive impairment in adults ages 55-85. The official app version is accessible to healthcare professionals only, but you can download a paper copy or take a short quiz version put together by the BBC.
Dual N-Back
This game tests your short-term memory and fluid intelligence with tasks that require you to recall spoken letters and visual graphics. There’s a free open-source version over at Brain Workshop.
Wonderlic Test
The Wonderlic is a 12-minute, 50-question cognitive test commonly used by employers to evaluate job applications. It measures overall intelligence and problem-solving ability, and you can take a free version online.
Executive and memory function tests
The interface at Cognitive Fun is pretty outdated (and you need Adobe Flash, sigh), but you can take a wide range of assessments for attention, perception, memory, executive function and more. This includes the Stroop Test (colour reading) and the Erickson flanker test.
Quantified Mind experiments
The Quantified Mind platform has free assessments testing the effect of your daily habits — drinking coffee, skipping breakfast, meditating — on your cognitive abilities. You can sign up for a free account and take the tests multiple times over weeks.
If you want to go deeper down the rabbit hole of cognitive tests, CogniFit has a long list of assessments — general skills, mental arithmetic and safe driving, to name a few — you can pay to take. They aren’t cheap, so the free options may be better if you’re just dabbling for fun.
Finally, a reminder that you shouldn’t use cognitive test results to diagnose yourself (or anyone else). Only a qualified healthcare professional can interpret scores and evaluate mental health conditions for treatment. These suggestions are purely for your own enjoyment.
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