An elementary cognitive task (ECT) is any of a range of basic tasks which require only a small number of mental processes and which have easily specified correct outcomes. Although ECTs may be cognitively simple there is evidence that performance on such tasks correlates well with other measures of general intelligence

General intelligence

General intelligence may refer to:* general intelligence factor in psychology* Intelligence* strong AI, an artificial intelligence that matches or exceeds human intelligence...

 such as Raven's Progressive Matrices

Raven's Progressive Matrices

Raven's Progressive Matrices are non-verbal multiple choice measures of the reasoning component of Spearman's g , which is often referred to as general intelligence. The tests were originally developed by John C. Raven in 1936...

. For example, correcting for attenuation, the correlation

Correlation

In statistics, dependence refers to any statistical relationship between two random variables or two sets of data. Correlation refers to any of a broad class of statistical relationships involving dependence....

 between IQ test scores and ECT performance is about 0.5.

The term was proposed by John Bissell Carroll

John Bissell Carroll

John Bissell Carroll was an American psychologist known for his contributions to psychology, educational linguistics and psychometrics.- Early years :...

 in 1980, who posited that all test performance could be analyzed and broken down to building blocks called ECTs. Test batteries such as Microtox were developed based on this theory and have shown utility in the evaluation of test subjects under the influence of carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...

 or alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

.