The Dot-Probe Task is Probably Fine

Buy me a coffee

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By Shachar Hochman

Excerpt from tutorial here:

• Goal: Discuss two methods to detect reliability (of cognitive tasks in this case) using Bayesian hierarchical linear models (HLMs) in brms.

• Case Study: The Dot-Probe Task. Contrary to a recent publication that claims the emotional dot-probe task is not a reliable measure, I’ll show that more nuanced modeling suggests the task is probably “fine” reliability-wise.

• The Bottom Line: This tutorial-like post demonstrates how Bayesian HLM can fundamentally change reliability assessment. By analyzing trial-level data rather than aggregated scores, these methods can uncover meaningful signal where traditional approaches see only noise—potentially rehabilitating numerous tasks previously deemed psychometrically inadequate.

1. Link to tutorial here: https://cogpsychreserve.netlify.app/posts/dotprobereliability/