Stroop Test

A cognitive test investigating automatic information processing. In the original Stroop test, named after its discoverer, Stroop, participants were asked to name the color of a written word where the word itself is a color word. For example, the word green would appear in red, and the participant would be expected to respond “Red,” that is, naming the color of the written word. However, as reading is an automatic skill, many participants have difficulties naming the color of the word, as they cannot avoid also reading the word. As a result, the response time of participants was slowed down, or participants even responded incorrectly by naming the color word (green) instead of the color of the word (red).

The Stroop task supports Posner and Snyder's (1975) assertions of automatic processing. First, automatic processing can occur unintentionally. Second, automatic processing can occur without reaching conscious levels of awareness. Finally, automatic processing generally does not interfere with other cognitive activities. More recent versions of the test include the emotional Stroop test, in which the presented words are either negative-emotion-evoking words, such as hate, war, and so on, or neutral words. Similarly, participants are asked to name the color of the word. Results indicated that participants were slower in naming the color of negative-emotion words than neutral words. For more information, see Posner and Snyder (1975).