How the Perceptual Speed and Accuracy test works
Each item puts two strings side by side, separated by a dash, with two answers beneath: The same and Not the same. Your job is to spot any difference at all. Harver links the subtest to jobs that involve ordering, sorting and verifying information, and to working efficiently on an unfamiliar task under pressure.
The items are simple; the challenge is getting through them quickly without slips before the clock ends. Harver does not publish the number of items or the time limit for this subtest.
How to check a pair fast
Build one routine and use it on every pair:
- Compare in chunks of two or three characters, left to right, rather than reading each string whole.
- Check the length first. A string one character shorter is an instant Not the same.
- Look hardest at the middle and the end, where two neighbouring characters swapped round are easy to miss.
- Watch look-alike characters such as O and Q, 1 and I, 5 and S, 6 and 8.
- As soon as one chunk differs, answer. You do not need to read the rest.
Worked examples
HNWXRT - HNWXRT. In chunks, HN WX RT against HN WX RT. Every chunk matches, so the answer is The same.
740318 - 740381. The first two chunks, 74 and 03, match. The last is 18 against 81: two digits have swapped places, so the answer is Not the same.
KTRVWM - KTRVWN. Everything matches until the final character, M against N. Not the same.
Tips for the real Perceptual Speed and Accuracy test
- Find a pace you can hold without slips. Every wrong answer is a pair you could have got right.
- Sit it somewhere quiet. One interruption costs more on a speed test than on any other subtest.
- Finish it in one go. A section you leave halfway is not saved, and you start it again from the beginning.
- Use a laptop with a mouse if you can. Harver works on up-to-date phones, but long strings are easier to compare on a bigger screen.
Practise Harver Checking on CogniPrep
Our version has 100 pairs on a 5-minute clock. Answer each with one tap on The same or Not the same, or with the arrow keys or F and J on a keyboard, and the next pair appears at once. We score correct answers minus wrong ones, never below zero, so guessing at speed does not pay. The item count, the clock and the penalty are ours; Harver does not publish them.