PSY-300
Stroop Effect Test
Psychology Department, University of Maryland Global Campus
Abstract
Once taught to read, identifying written words becomes an automatic process beyond
human control. In the process of studying such automatic processes, psychologists uncovered
what is known as the Stroop Effect. Discovered in the early 1930’s by John Ridley Stroop, the
Stroop Effect is the term coined for a delay in completing automatic processes with incongruent
stimuli. His experiment used color names written in an incongruent colored ink to test how this
information was processed. Since then, various versions of the Stroop Effect Test have been
conducted to test this cognitive function. The Stroop Effect Test has been conducted on
numerous groups including gender, race, ethnicity and age. In this experiment, the Stroop Effect
was used to measure differences in the Stroop Effect based on age and education level. The
results showed no significant difference in the effect based on education level. Still, the
differences based on age and gender were consistent with previous studies.
Keywords: Stroop Effect, education level, age, cognitive process
Introduction
For well over one-hundred year, psychologists have sought to study the automatic
behaviors and cognitive processes associated with human beings. Automatic behaviors can
either be innate or learned through repetition. Once learned, these behaviors cannot be unlearned
and will activate without thought as a response to a corresponding stimulus (Raz, Kirsch, Pollard
and Nitkin-Kaner, 2006). A commonly discussed automatic process to the average American is
the idea of riding a bike. It is something that must be learned but once the behaviors associated
, with bike-riding are automatized, the rider will always be able to recall that skill. The Stroop
Effect is a psychological test developed in the early 1930s by John Ridley Stroop in order to test
the automaticity of reading (Raz, Kirsch, Pollard and Nitkin-Kaner, 2006). Stroop considered
two automatic processes, naming a color and reading a word, and sought to test how people were
affected by two interfering automatic processes (Stroop, 1992). In his experiments, Stroop had
participants read a series of color names written in Black ink. He then had participants names
the color of colored squares. In the final test, Stroop asked participants to name the color of a
written word. The written words used were incongruent with its color (Raz, Kirsch, Pollard and
Nitkin-Kaner, 2006). Each test was timed. The results revealed that times to complete each test
consistently increased.
The results of Stroop’s experiment revealed that automatic processes are significantly
slowed down when the information does not match our expectations. This phenomenon was
named the Stroop Effect and has been the subject of countless studies since it was first published.
Researchers often compare how different categories are affected by the Stroop Effect. One such
study was published in 2007 and tested how the margins between each Stroop test were affected
at various age levels. This experiment used a modified version of the Stroop test, where the final
test used words in German instead of English (Mager, et al., 2007). Also, this modified version
included a test where participants were asked whether the color of the word matched its name.
The participants were separated into two groups. The “younger” group consisted of 43
participants with a mean age of 28.7 years and a standard deviation of 5.2 years. The “older”
group consisted of 29 participants with a mean age of 50.9 and a standard deviation of 6 years
(Mager, et al., 2007). The results of this study revealed that the difference in times from the
Stroop test with congruent information and the Stroop test with incongruent information was
twice as large in the older population than in the younger population (Mager, et al., 2007).
Researchers attributed this difference to a lack of cognitive resources in the elderly participants
Stroop Effect Test
Psychology Department, University of Maryland Global Campus
Abstract
Once taught to read, identifying written words becomes an automatic process beyond
human control. In the process of studying such automatic processes, psychologists uncovered
what is known as the Stroop Effect. Discovered in the early 1930’s by John Ridley Stroop, the
Stroop Effect is the term coined for a delay in completing automatic processes with incongruent
stimuli. His experiment used color names written in an incongruent colored ink to test how this
information was processed. Since then, various versions of the Stroop Effect Test have been
conducted to test this cognitive function. The Stroop Effect Test has been conducted on
numerous groups including gender, race, ethnicity and age. In this experiment, the Stroop Effect
was used to measure differences in the Stroop Effect based on age and education level. The
results showed no significant difference in the effect based on education level. Still, the
differences based on age and gender were consistent with previous studies.
Keywords: Stroop Effect, education level, age, cognitive process
Introduction
For well over one-hundred year, psychologists have sought to study the automatic
behaviors and cognitive processes associated with human beings. Automatic behaviors can
either be innate or learned through repetition. Once learned, these behaviors cannot be unlearned
and will activate without thought as a response to a corresponding stimulus (Raz, Kirsch, Pollard
and Nitkin-Kaner, 2006). A commonly discussed automatic process to the average American is
the idea of riding a bike. It is something that must be learned but once the behaviors associated
, with bike-riding are automatized, the rider will always be able to recall that skill. The Stroop
Effect is a psychological test developed in the early 1930s by John Ridley Stroop in order to test
the automaticity of reading (Raz, Kirsch, Pollard and Nitkin-Kaner, 2006). Stroop considered
two automatic processes, naming a color and reading a word, and sought to test how people were
affected by two interfering automatic processes (Stroop, 1992). In his experiments, Stroop had
participants read a series of color names written in Black ink. He then had participants names
the color of colored squares. In the final test, Stroop asked participants to name the color of a
written word. The written words used were incongruent with its color (Raz, Kirsch, Pollard and
Nitkin-Kaner, 2006). Each test was timed. The results revealed that times to complete each test
consistently increased.
The results of Stroop’s experiment revealed that automatic processes are significantly
slowed down when the information does not match our expectations. This phenomenon was
named the Stroop Effect and has been the subject of countless studies since it was first published.
Researchers often compare how different categories are affected by the Stroop Effect. One such
study was published in 2007 and tested how the margins between each Stroop test were affected
at various age levels. This experiment used a modified version of the Stroop test, where the final
test used words in German instead of English (Mager, et al., 2007). Also, this modified version
included a test where participants were asked whether the color of the word matched its name.
The participants were separated into two groups. The “younger” group consisted of 43
participants with a mean age of 28.7 years and a standard deviation of 5.2 years. The “older”
group consisted of 29 participants with a mean age of 50.9 and a standard deviation of 6 years
(Mager, et al., 2007). The results of this study revealed that the difference in times from the
Stroop test with congruent information and the Stroop test with incongruent information was
twice as large in the older population than in the younger population (Mager, et al., 2007).
Researchers attributed this difference to a lack of cognitive resources in the elderly participants
