Blocks will light up in a sequence — tap them back in the same order. Each correct round adds one more block. Average visuospatial span is 5–6 blocks.
Created by Philip Corsi in the 1970s, this test measures visuospatial working memory — distinct from verbal memory. Interestingly, most people's Corsi span (5-6) is slightly lower than their verbal digit span (7), suggesting spatial memory is more limited.
Compare your Corsi span with your Digit Span and Visual Memory results.
Developed by Philip Corsi in the early 1970s and refined through decades of clinical use, the Corsi Block Test measures visuospatial working memory span — how many spatial locations you can hold in active memory and reproduce in the correct sequence. The original physical version used wooden blocks on a board; neuropsychologists still use it today to assess patients with brain lesions, stroke, or neurodegenerative disease.
A key scientific finding: most people's Corsi span (spatial: average 5–6 blocks) is slightly lower than their digit span (verbal: average 7 digits). This consistent asymmetry — known as the verbal advantage in working memory — reflects the greater efficiency of the phonological loop compared to the visuospatial sketchpad, likely because language is evolutionarily and developmentally more practiced.
The Corsi test is particularly sensitive to damage in the right posterior parietal cortex and hippocampus. Patients with right hemisphere lesions typically show Corsi spans well below normal while their digit span remains relatively preserved — a double dissociation that helped establish the independence of verbal and visuospatial memory systems. This clinical diagnostic value makes it one of the most frequently used neuropsychological assessment tools worldwide.
Scores of 7+ on this test represent the top 25% of users. Architecture students, surgeons, and chess players — all of whom develop exceptional spatial reasoning — consistently outperform the general population on the Corsi Block Test. Regular visuospatial practice (navigation without GPS, 3D puzzle games, drawing) may support maintenance of spatial memory capacity.