Cognitive Inhibition and Mental Processing Speeds for Congruent, Incongruent and other Conditions: The Stroop Experiment In the study of association and interference, The Stroop Experiment is perhaps the most definitive study. First devised in 1935, the experiment demonstrated the relationship between interference and reaction time when performing specific tasks (Stroop, 1935). This experiment was birthed by Münsterberg’s theory which questioned whether alterations in common tasks were inhibiting for individuals (Stroop, 1935). Müsnsterberg concluded automatic association functions can occur irrespective of existing contrary associations (Stroop, 1935). This topic of cognitive inhibition and response is of particular interest as it has …show more content…
It is predicted that results will be congruent with theory formulated from initial studies, as these findings have remained consistent for decades and are a logical extensions of supported evidence. The consensus among previous experiments, it that words presented which are congruent with their colour, will have the fastest reaction time, words which are contrast to their colour will have the slowest reaction time, and words which are non-colour will have an intermediate reaction time (Ergen et. al., 2014). The independent variable for this experiment was the type of word presented and consisted of three variants; congruent, incongruent, non-colour. The dependent variable was the reaction time for each response, recorded in milliseconds throughout this experiment. Three related hypotheses were formulated to aid in quantifying the relationship between said variables. These are; when the word is a colour name and is presented in the colour it names, colour naming will be at its fastest, when the word is a colour name and is presented in a colour different to the one it names, colour naming will be at its slowest and when the word is not a colour name, colour naming will be at an intermediate speed. …show more content…
Stroop Test Average Reaction Time (ms) for the Sample in Congruent, Incongruent and Non-colour words Figure 1 presents the average score in milliseconds and shows that findings support the given hypothesis. For the congruent condition, the average speed of response was the fastest (M = 716.80, SD = 71.52) when compared to other data sets. As hypothesised, colour incongruent words had the slowest reaction time (M = 784.56, SD = 108.50), however the variability of this variable was notably larger than the other two variables. The time for non-colour words was intermediate (M = 736.13, SD = 78.18), however was closer to the speed for congruent word types indicating a marginally faster reaction time. These initial results appear to be in line with the hypothesis given. Results of the dependent group t-tests varied substantially between data sets. The difference between Colour Congruent and Colour Incongruent reaction times was significant, t(356) = -17.36, p < .001. Between Colour Congruent and Non-colour words, there is also a significant difference, t(356) = -9.11, p < .001. There was also a significant difference between the Colour Incongruent and Non-colour words, t(356) = 14.61, p < .001. Each of these comparisons conforms to the definition of statistically significant and hence can, with credibility, support the research
Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2010). Psychology. (2nd ed., p. 600). New York: Worth Pub.
Two subtests comprise the Sound-Symbol Composite: Phonological Processing and Nonsense Word Decoding. Catalina’s overall performance fell within the Average range (Sound-Symbol Composite Standard Score of 97; 42nd percentile). Catalina performed within the average range when asked to respond orally to items that require manipulation of the sounds within words (Phonological Processing). Additionally, she was asked to read aloud nonsense terms (Nonsense Word Decoding). She performed in the average range in comparison to her same-age peers.
Lila is a second grade student who participated in a Primary Spelling Inventory and the reflection of her results are as follows. After her spelling inventory was finalized I noted that the student spelled ten of the twenty-six words correctly giving her a power score of 10/26. Most of the words that she mastered was in the Late emergent and early of Letter Name Alphabetic stage. I also noted that Lila accomplished 36 features out of 56 total features during her spelling inventory. Based on the results of the Primary Spelling Inventory the orthographic features that Lila recognizes are the consonants, short vowel, blends, and is familiar with diagraphs. Although she mastered blends which falls in the late Letter Name-Alphabetic stage she failed to master diagraphs which is the middle stage.
Although correlation does not equal causation, we can conclude that similar cognitive processes, such as interference and automaticity, have influenced the results in our experiment. This can be expressed by the data and in identifying and saying aloud/reading a simple number compared to quantifying simple numbers. The cognitive load of reading familiar or smaller words is lower than that of counting, thus creating perchance a longer reaction time. In the experiment conducted in class as well as the one conducted by Stroop, the issue of divided attention may have been a great factor in interference or prolonged reaction time in the conditions. Psychological refractory period which states that the response to a second stimulus is slowed down by the first stimulus being processed; this can be a cause for the finding of increased reaction time when conflicting information is given. Attention may unconsciously be given to the less complex task, which is reading/identifying, and counting the main and more complex task may be interfered by the simpler stimulus. The expectation of having a longer reaction time when conducting the incongruent task was referenced back to the Stroop effect due to the similar implications of identifying and saying aloud the color presented in the print of the color descriptive word (Stroop,
The Web. 26 Mar. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Kaya, Naz. A. Epps, Helen H. "Relationship Between Color And Emotion: A Study Of College Students." College Student Journal 38.3 (2004): 396-405. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection.
The independent variables in this experiment are the time and the foils presented to the subject. The dependent variable is the discrimination index. The...
Cognitive tempo/reflectivity v impulsivity: whether people prefer to take in and process information quickly or more slowly with greater or less informational input and greater /less concern for accuracy.
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Interference and automaticity is a major concept in the Stroop experiment. Interference occurs when one memory interferes with another, impairing memory and many think that it has plenty to do with memory loss. While automaticity, is the ability to do work without occupying the mind with low level of attention which can affect learning, repetition, and practice. The Stroop task is a common way to measure reaction time and the ability to process two conflicting sets of information at a single time. It can be administered in various ways including, but not limited to, colors and numbers. Originally, the Stroop task was presented with a color word written in a conflicting color ink and the participants were asked to name the color in which the color word was printed. The first condition had 70 participants who had to name a list of color names instead of the color. The researcher recorded the time it took for each participant to go through the list without errors. The second condition required participants to name the colors out loud in the same order as the first experiment. While the third , the participants practiced color naming of reading the word. For example, if the word red was shown in blue ink, the correct answer was blue. The results showed that there was a greater effect in reaction time in word stimuli with naming colors (the word blue was written in yellow ink with the answer being yellow) than color stimuli in reading words (the word blue was written in yellow ink with the correct answer being blue) (Stroop, 1935). Results also showed that participants respond slower to ink-color when the meaning of the word is incongruent than when its neutral (Stroop,1935).
(1) Ex. “t ~ s, k, ʧ, st would comprise larger treatment sets of contrastive word pairs that would be used in treatment.” (Williams, 2000)
A later study demonstrated that incongruence and interference led to a greater response time (Windes, 1968). Interference was present in the current study in the incongruent counting condition, and these results support Windes’s results in that the present study also demonstrated an increased reaction time for incongruent tasks in which interference was present. One theory of this effect is based on speeds of processing (MacLeod, 1991); this idea states that words are simply read faster than colors are named (Cattell, 1886). The theory, however, would be inapplicable to a number-based Stroop task such as the present study. Instead, the depth of processing model may be utilized as a new theory of how the Stroop effect operates cognitively (Eidels, Ryan, Williams, & Algom,
The design for this study will be a simple between subject experiment consisting of one experimental group and one control group. The independent variable will be warm colors. The dependent variable will be mood. The main goal is to determine if the independent variable will influence or cause difference in the specified dependent variable. The experiment group will spend 60 minutes in a warm paint color room and their mood will be measured. The control group will spend 60 minutes in a neutral paint color room and their mood will be measured.
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