Cognitive constructs

Five domains, each with a long literature.

The constructs behind WelloRise and Wellowize — each with the paradigm we use, what the literature establishes, and the operational caveats we hold ourselves to.

Which cognitive constructs does WelloWork measure? Five: working memory, processing speed, attention, problem solving, and cognitive flexibility. Each one maps to an established cognitive-science paradigm — N-back, symbol substitution, Posner-style attention, Raven reasoning, and task-switching — adapted for short, daily sessions inside a workplace platform.

What is working memory and how do we measure it?

Working memory is the capacity to hold and manipulate information in mind. We operationalise it through N-back tasks (after Baddeley and the broader span literature) with adaptive difficulty per session. Working memory is one of the most predictive cognitive constructs for academic and complex-task performance in the published literature, though transfer to job-level outcomes is more domain-specific.

What is processing speed and how do we measure it?

Processing speed measures how fast simple cognitive operations can be performed. We use symbol-substitution-style tasks (a paradigm with a long history in cognitive assessment) and short choice-reaction designs. Processing speed is notably sensitive to sleep deprivation and acute fatigue, which is part of why it's useful in a workplace context.

What is attention and how do we measure it?

Attention spans multiple sub-constructs: sustained, selective, alerting, orienting, executive. We focus on sustained attention (vigilance under a continuous task) and selective attention (filtering distractors) via Posner-style cueing paradigms, adapted for in-platform sessions.

What is problem solving and how do we measure it?

Non-verbal reasoning under constraints. We use Raven-style progressive matrices and tower-of-Hanoi-style problems, with explicit time-on-task tracking. Problem solving is the construct most influenced by domain knowledge, which is why we report it alongside the role-specific technical screens in Wellowize.

What is cognitive flexibility and how do we measure it?

The ability to shift between rule sets and contexts. Operationalised through task-switching designs (after Monsell, 2003 and the broader executive-function literature), with switch-cost reduction tracked over time as a signal of flexibility under low-stakes conditions.

What about constructs we don't measure?

We deliberately do not score personality, mood, or emotion via the cognitive battery. Personality assessment is its own discipline with its own rigour requirements; we have nothing useful to add there and we're cautious about its workplace use in any case. Mood is captured by employees themselves as optional context for their own trend view; managers don't see it.

See the constructs in the dashboard.

The demo includes a side-by-side of a sample employee's adaptive session and where that result lands in the team aggregate.