Stroop Effect

Background: The Stroop effect is an exhibition of intrusion. In this experiment, the brain slows down its processing time because it is thinking and observing through conflicting and confusing information that tricks our mind and makes us believe different things.

Procedures: In the Stroop Effect, a person is handed a list of words with the name of different colors printed in varicolored ink of the same colors but placed differently. They are later asked to name the color of the ink used on each word. They are timed to see how long they take to do this.

Results: Because of the minds trick on the person’s reactions, this individual’s time of reaction is delayed. This is because the person's brain is trying to hold back the input from the printed words in order to focus on the color of the words; this is considered the “trick” our brains usually fall in to creating a confusion that causes us to say the wrong color by saying the word.

For example: Look at the following list of words: yellow, red, green, purple, brown, blue. Try to name the colors each word is written in as fast as you can do it. You may find that you are continually hesitating or stumbling on the words or go back to it and saying them again. This is because your brain is attempting to process two conflicting pieces of information: a color, and a word naming a color, which confuses us greatly. The Stroop effect is confusing but still a good exercise for our brains. Try the one bellow!!