The Stroop Effect

Introduction of the Stroop Effect
The Stroop Effect, named after American Psychologist John Ridley Stroop, refers to the increased difficulty one has in processing the font color of a word when the meaning of that word refers to an incompatible color (e.g. the word “orange” typed out in the font color blue). This psychological phenomenon was first identified by Dr. Stroop in 1935, when he first noticed that most people are able to read out words fairly quickly, and that they direct their focus onto that word and not onto other attributes (ex. font color). He also found that it was much more difficult for many to read aloud the font color of a word when the word meaning does not correspond with the font color. Psychologists believe that this

To perform this test successfully, a participant must focus their entire attention on the tested variable and avoid incorrect impulses that may likely get in the way of desired results. These impulses are a result of what some researchers refer to as an automatic word recognition process that cannot be disabled. According to this process, people can see a word and process it without much effort or conscious will. The act of processing color, however, is not automatic, creating conflict between processing word color and word meaning. These interferences/conflicts activate the areas of the brain involved in executive function (memory, organization, problem solving), such as the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. (Mary McMahon, 2003)
Two main theories have been created and used to explain the results of the Stroop experiment. These theories are known as the Speed of Processing theory and the Selective Attention theory. In the Speed of Processing theory, it is thought that the brain needs to use more attention to identify a color than to identify a word, causing a delay as the brain processes the color. However, according to the Selective Attention theory, the brain needs to give more attention to the color, rather than the word, causing a discord between the reaction times of the word and the reaction times of the color. (Eric H. Chudler,

Stroop’s original test have been conducted over the recent years, testing the same effect in different types of ways. In one particular study, it was concluded that the Stroop Effect can also affect words that can be associated with (but not necessarily representing) a certain color (e.g. fire= red, water=blue, grass=green) (Rochester Institution of Technology). A different, emotion-based test has shown that people associate colors with a feeling or mood (e.g. depression=blue, anger=red) A researcher would pair a word with a color you would not normally associate with that word (e.g. sadness=yellow, water=red) and test how fast or how accurately a person could read the color aloud, just like in a typical Stroop experiment. (Mary McMahon, 2003)
The Stroop test has been used also by doctors (such as psychologists) to check if a person’s brain is functioning properly, specifically in the focus and attention area. It can be used as a medical screening tool, testing for certain mental disorders such as ADHD, dementia, and schizophrenia. For example, people with ADHD tend to be less able to focus on and filter the conflicting information (McMahon,