stroop lab report

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Dec 6, 2023

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Running head: STROOP EFFECT 1 Information Processing and The Stroop Effect Hunter College, City University of New York

STROOP EFFECT 2 Abstract The Stroop Effect is a type of study that shows how interference affects brain processes. A sample size of 19 undergraduate students were tasked with performing a replicated Stroop task and emotional Stroop task to indicate whether the color word combinations, as well as word type, had an effect on reaction time. Our hypothesis was the reaction time for color-naming tasks would be greater than the reaction times for word-reading tasks. This was based on the inference that people react poorly with negative words which will slow reaction time. The results obtained through one sample t-tests showed there were significant effects of congruent and non-congruent stimuli on reaction time. The three-way ANOVA showed no significance and no three way interaction between independent variables. These results support previous studies that have utilized the Stroop Effect. Keywords : Stroop task, emotional Stroop, reaction time, color

STROOP EFFECT 3 Information Processing and The Stroop Effect The Stroop Effect is one of the most widely used psychological tests. Produced by John Ridley Stroop it is the expression of i nterference in the reaction time of a task. In this test, participants are given a set of words that are written in a different color ink than what the word denotes. (For example, the word reads, “blue,” however, the word is printed in a red font.) This provides an interference between the color ink and the meaning of the word. The emotional Stroop task is used to assess emotions through information processing. Unlike the original Stroop task, the emotional Stroop task is performed with words related to specific emotions and disorders or neutral words, rather than being color words. Reaction time is affected by the interference of emotions. Building off the work of previous researchers and studies, scientists continue to utilize the Stroop Task to test for varying degrees of interference in the brain (Agustí, Satorres, Pitarque, & Meléndez, 2017; Andriopoulos & Kafetsios, 2015; Feng, Becker, Huang, Wu, Eickhoff, & Chen, 2018; Kar, Srinivasan, Nehabala & Nigam, 2018; Liu, Yang, Jiang, & Li, 2018). Due to prior research the concept of negative stimuli such as emotions effecting reaction time has developed. Individuals associate negative words with their own negative emotions which delays their response. Although, as this may be true the Stroop task produces results that are independent from each other. As negative emotions slow reaction times positive emotions produce the “ fast effect”, positive words can be detected quickly and automatically (Liu et al., 2018). The Stroop task is composed in many different variations. Many researchers use the authentic word and color method but data are being collected from different forms. Another popular construction is using a face word method, applying emotion related words to pictures of

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STROOP EFFECT 4 different emotion faces. Results showed the face word method produces complementary conclusions to the word color method. Interference occurred when the emotion words were congruent and non-congruent. Especially, more interference on positive faces and adaptation effects on negative faces (Agustí et al., 2017; Kar et al., 2018). In this current study we recorded reaction time amongst three different experiments using the Stroop Task. The researchers hypothesized that there would be a significant effect in the reaction times between experiments. Specifically, the reaction time for negative emotion words to be remarkably slower than the positive and neutral words. Also, color naming tasks reaction time would be drastically slower than the words in the word reading task of experiment two. This study will provide explanation on selective attention, the ability to respond or ignore certain stimuli. Methods Subject The study included a sample size of 19 undergraduate students, 4 of which were males while 15 were females, that all attend Hunter College, City University of New York. The students’ ages ranged between 18 to 24. All of the students are enrolled in the same experimental psychology class. Materials and Procedures In the study, the researchers used a power point presentation with 67 individual slides given to us by the teaching assistant. The first experiment that replicated the Stroop effect included slides 2-24. The color naming task on shapes referred to slides 3-13, while the word reading task pertained to slides 14-24. The second experiment referred to the interference task

STROOP EFFECT 5 where individuals named the ink color of the color words. This experiment included slides 26 - 36. Lastly, the third experiment, the emotional Stroop task where individuals named the ink color of the emotional words, were from slides 37-67. The researchers used a laptop to generate the power point for the tests while an iPhone X was used to record the time in seconds. All subjects performed the color-naming task of experiment one first. The four subjects in the group took turns as one student moved through the slides one-by-one while another recorded the time it took to get from slides 3 to 13 using a pen and paper. Once the first task was completed, the subjects went on to the second word reading task of experiment one. Again, the students took turns as one student switched through the slides and another recorded the time it took to get from slides 14 to 24. After completing experiment one, the subjects moved on to experiment two, the inference task where subjects had to name the color ink of the word. The students time to get from slides 26 to 36 were recorded. In the final step of our experiment, students had to participate in experiment three, the emotional Stroop task. The first 10 words were neutral the second 10 words were negative and the last 10 words were positive. The time it took for each student to get from slides 37 to 67 were recorded. Following the completion of all three experiments, the researchers compiled a chart indicating each individual subjects’ completion times for each experiment and task. Results An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare reaction time in word reading task and color naming task. There was a significant difference in the scores for color naming task (M= 8.52, SD= 1.52) and word reading task (M=7.44, SD= 1.30) conditions; t (8)= (-2.63), P =0.030 and t (8)= (-4.060), P = 0.004. These results suggest that information processing does

STROOP EFFECT 6 have an effect on reaction time, specifically our results suggest that it is easier to answer a word naming task rather than a color naming task with interference. The independent between-groups ANOVA yielded a statistically insignificant effect, F (2,14) = 0.024, p = 0.977 showing no relationship between variables. Discussion The result of the study supports the researchers initial hypothesis, the reaction time for color-naming tasks would be greater than the reaction times for word-reading tasks. There was a significant difference in reaction time between the three experiments. The study supports the Stroop method and further provides information on how interference effects the way information is processed. There was a difference in time between experiments one, where the color was identified from a shape or from a color that was congruent, and experiment two where the color was incongruent. This supported the idea of how the Stroop effect has a strong relationship with stimulus control and cognitive control (Feng et al., 2018). Complimentary to our hypothesis the conditions of negative, neutral, and positive words had an effect on reaction time in experiment three. Neutral words had a better rate of recall and recognition than emotional words, but positive emotion words were recognized faster than negative emotion words. This generally establishes that individuals better respond to information processing when it is in their favor allowing them to disregard interference (Liu et al., 2018). The independent t-test performed determined there was a statistically significant difference between the unrelated means of word reading and color naming task. The three-way ANOVA we performed was statistically insignificant which determines there was not a three-way interaction between the three independent variables Conditions of experiment three had no effect

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STROOP EFFECT 7 on one another in terms of an individual’s reaction time. Neutral words had no relationship to their reaction time to negative or positive emotion words. Unlike the t-test which was significant the ANOVA compared the relationship rather than the means which was insignificant. For the t- test the means of reaction time between variables, word reading and color naming, were different causing the significance. When discussing the limitations of the researchers’ study on the Stroop Effect, it is important to consider the way the experiments were conducted. The experiments followed a within-subjects design. This meant that the researchers reused the same 67 slides on each participant while in the same room. As the experiment went through each subject, the participants to be chosen later had premature exposure to the words already so there was a noticeable bias in the results. Along with memory biases were the clarity issues. Several times, students confused the colors blue and turquoise which increased their reaction time overall as they had to maneuver around the obstacle. Future researchers would benefit from a survey to gauge the subjects knowledge on and about the Stroop Effect. The subjects who knew about the Stroop Effect had an advantage over the subjects who were unaware during this experiment so the survey would help to eliminate any biases that may occur or at least highlight certain participants for future data. Another opportunity for future researchers is the way they conduct the experiment, unlike this study which used a manual operation, researchers should use a device that automatically produces new words and records times. This would eliminate the percent of human error and benefit in the calculations of reaction times.

STROOP EFFECT 8 References Kar, B. R., Srinivasan, N., Nehabala, Y., & Nigam, R. (2018). Proactive and reactive control depends on emotional valence: A Stroop study with emotional expressions and words. Cognition and Emotion , 32 (2), 325–340. https://doi- org.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/10.1080/02699931.2017.1304897 Feng, C., Becker, B., Huang, W., Wu, X., Eickhoff, S. B., & Chen, T. (2018). Neural substrates of the emotion-word and emotional counting Stroop tasks in healthy and clinical populations: A meta-analysis of functional brain imaging studies. NeuroImage , 173 , 258– 274. https://doi- org.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.02.023 Agustí, A. I., Satorres, E., Pitarque, A., & Meléndez, J. C. (2017). An emotional Stroop task with faces and words A comparison of young and older adults. Consciousness and Cognition: An International Journal , 53 , 99–104. https://doi- org.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/10.1016/j.concog.2017.06.010 Liu, X., Yang, Y., Jiang, S., & Li, J. (2018). The facilitating effect of positive emotions during an emotional Stroop task. NeuroReport: For Rapid Communication of Neuroscience Research , 29 (11), 883–888. https://doi- org.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/10.1097/WNR.0000000000001048 Andriopoulos, P., & Kafetsios, K. (2015). Avoidant Attachment and the Processing of Emotion Information: Selective Attention or Cognitive Avoidance? Journal of Relationships Research, 6 , E6. doi:10.1017/jrr.2015.2

STROOP EFFECT 9 Table 1 Mean reaction time score in seconds per group Exp 1A Exp 1B Exp 2 Exp 3A Exp 3B Exp 3C Group 1 8.005 6.295 8.59 6.695 6.61 6.995 Group 2 6.674 5.882 10.664 7.98 8.678 7.996 Group 3 8.21 7.8325 12 8.58 8.8375 9.04 Group 4 10.8475 8.2275 11.6775 9.5925 9.4125 9.035 Group 5 8.8525 8.9525 12.225 9.945 10.055 10.06

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STROOP EFFECT 10 Figure 1. Mean Reaction Time Scores Between Different Emotions in experiment three.

STROOP EFFECT 11 Figure 2. T-Test Results for Word Reading Task.

STROOP EFFECT 12 Figure 3. T-Test Results for Color Naming Task.

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STROOP EFFECT 13 Figure 4. ANOVA Results from Three Types of Emotional Words (Neutral, Positive, Negative)

stroop lab report

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