The AP-MOT task is used to compare how people sustain attention when they must actively track information versus when they simply monitor for occasional, task-relevant events (aka vigilance).

Both tasks use the same basic MOT display: several identical objects appear on the screen, move unpredictably for several seconds, and then stop so the participant can respond.

• Active MOT (A-MOT): At the start of each trial, a subset of the objects is briefly highlighted as targets. Once the highlighting disappears, all objects begin to move. Participants must continuously track the target objects throughout the motion period. When the objects stop, they are asked to identify which items were the original targets. This version requires sustained, moment-to-moment attentional engagement.

• Passive MOT (P-MOT): The visual display is identical, but no targets are assigned. Participants simply watch the objects move. At the end of the trial, a single object is probed, and they respond whether it performed a small “jump” (an abrupt displacement) during motion. Because no continuous tracking is required, attention is mostly disengaged until the critical event occurs, making this version function like a vigilance task.

This task was coded in PsychoPy (current version 2026.1.3) and is available on GitHub. Two versions are available, one for behavioral data collection and one for pupillometry. Both versions are ready to roll once downloaded! 

Citation: 

Del Sordo, G.C., Papesh, M.H., Alonso Carillo, M., & Hout, M.C. (2026). Beyond vigilance: A dual-process perspective on visual sustained attention. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-026-01458-6