Tower of Hanoi test: what is it and what does it measure?

This test evaluates the mental abilities involved in problem solving.

Psychological tests to measure all kinds of constructs are many and varied. Most of them use questionnaires or interviews that the person being evaluated must complete or fill out following a series of guidelines; while others, of a much more practical nature, require the person to perform a series of practical exercises which reflect a whole range of cognitive skills and abilities.

One of these tests is the Tower of Hanoi TestThe Tower of Hanoi test, an activity that was originally conceived as a mathematical problem but over time was introduced in the field of psychological evaluation to measure mental processes of the executive functions.

What is the Tower of Hanoi Test?

There are a number of tests designed to assess skills such as planning ability and executive functioning. One of them is the Tower of Hanoi Test. The test measures some aspects of executive functions since, to complete it, the person needs to foresee and cognitively solve the unknown before making any movement.before making any movement.

This test was created in 1883 by the French mathematician Edouard Lucas. Lucas was inspired by a Hindu temple, as well as by the history of its creation, to elaborate the characteristics of the test, as well as the three towers that compose the test. These features have remained virtually unchanged from the time of its creation. However, it was not until 1975 when it began to be used with the aim of understanding people's behavior and evaluating the different skills and strategies during the resolution of a problem.

The characteristics mentioned above, which have given this test a certain fame, are both the speed and ease of application, as well as the simplicity of the evaluation, the analysis of the results and their interpretation.

The person who performs the Towers of Hanoi Test must solve a transformation problem for which he or she will need a certain mental effort, which will help him or herThis will help him/her to reach the answer through a series of movements. To solve the enigma requires the use of complex reasoning in problem solving and learning mechanisms.

What does the test consist of?

The aim of the Towers of Hanoi Test is to move the tower of discs along three rods in front of the person, from the initial configuration to a final configuration indicated by the evaluator.from the initial configuration to a final configuration indicated by the evaluator. This tower is divided into blocks or disks, which the patient must move to restore the tower to its final position.

The second rod consists of a "support" tower that will allow the person to place the disks temporarily. However, one of the requirements of the test is that the person must perform as few movements as possible and with as few failures as possible.

In addition, the test was developed with three constraints that restrict the movements that the person can or cannot make. These restrictions are:

• The person is not allowed to place a large-sized disk on top of a smaller-sized disk.
• The person can only perform movements in the same order in which the discs are placed.. Always starting with the disc that you find first.
• The disks always have to be on one of the three axes .. That is to say, the person cannot keep them in his hand or leave them on the table.

Any movement or attempt that involves having to skip any of these two conditions will be counted as an error and communicated to the person. In the digital variant of the test, the program directly prevents any of these movements and, in addition, it is notified by an audible signal.

Technical characteristics of the test

Like all tests used in psychological evaluation, the Towers of Hanoi Test has a series of technical characteristics in terms of test administration, population, material, etc.

1. Target population

The Towers of Hanoi Test can be administered to children, adolescents and adults.The levels of difficulty of the test will be adapted in each case.

2. Equipment

The material consists of three small towers composed of one stake each and three tokens of different dimensions..

3. Administration

The development of the test consists of the person having to change the arrangement of the disks from the initial configuration to the final one, making the fewest number of moves and with the fewest number of errors.

The difficulty of the test can vary and increase with time.using from 3 to 9 different disks.

4. Scoring

The evaluator must collect the number of movements that the person performs until the final configuration is achieved. In the same way, the number of errors and the amount of time the person needs to solve the problem. to solve the problem.

The scores are then switched and transformed into a final total score that reflects the person's ability to solve the problem. Finally, a low number of moves and errors is interpreted as a reflection of good performance.

In what contexts is it administered?

Although not particularly well known, the Towers of Hanoi Test is a basic and practical assessment toolTherefore, its administration can be useful in a Wide range of fields. However, the contexts in which it is most commonly used are:

• Psychological clinics.
• Centers of labor orientation and personnel selection.
• Educational centers..
• Military and defense contexts.

What does the test measure?

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the objective of the Towers of Hanoi test is to evaluate the person's executive functions. Specifically, the ability to plan and solve problems.

Executive functions refer to all the complex mental tasks that the person needs to perform in order to plan, organize, organize, direct, verify and evaluate the to plan, organize, direct, verify and evaluate the behaviors necessary to adapt to the environment and solve problems.

The mental processes of the executive functions are:

• Working memory.
• Planning.
• Reasoning.
• Flexibility.
• Inhibition.
• Decision making.
• Time estimation.
• Dual execution.
• Ability to multitask.

Nevertheless, the Towers of Hanoi test test is intended to emphasize the assessment of planning and problem-solving abilities..