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Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) task

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Evidence · no claims cited

Description

A brief, game-like direct assessment developed for young children that measures behavioral self-regulation through rule reversal, attention, working-memory, and inhibitory-control tasks.

Components

  • Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) task for assessing early childhood behavioral self-regulation: The HTKS is a direct assessment of behavioral self-regulation for children ages three to seven. "The HTKS is a short, game-like task where children are asked to 'do the opposite' in regards to a set of paired rules", tapping attention, working memory, and inhibition. Scores range from 0–40, with two points for correct responses and one for self-corrections. The article reports strong reliability (Cronbach's alpha .85–.94 across samples) and validity evidence, and notes growth in HTKS performance does not appear to be a function of practice effects. (Montroy Janelle J. et al. (2016))

Claims

Key Sources

  • Montroy Janelle J., Bowles Ryan P., Skibbe Lori E., McClelland Megan M., Morrison Frederick J. (2016). The Development of Self-Regulation across Early Childhood. Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000159
Page metadata
Field Value
type product
id head-toes-knees-shoulders-htks-task
title Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) task
description A brief, game-like direct assessment developed for young children that measures behavioral self-regulation through rule reversal, attention, working-memory, and inhibitory-control tasks.
status review
product_kind assessment
generated by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-17
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