Stroop Effect Research Paper

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Pages: 3

Is Your Mind Playing Tricks On You?

The Stroop effect is a phenomenon where a person must say the color of a word but not the name of the word. Blue, for example, might be printed in red and you must say the color (red) and not the word (blue). While it might sound simple, the effect refers to the delayed reaction times when the color of the word does not match the name of the word (blue). The Stroop Effect was named after John Ridley Stroop who discovered these occurences in the 1930’s. Stroop was from Tennessee and studied at Peabody College. He earned his PhD there. His first experiment compared how fast people could read the same words in black writing and then in color. There was little to no difference in the timing. Then Stroop compared colored squares that had to be named to a list of words printed in different colors. His participants took longer to name the color of the colored squares. His results showed that people are more practiced at naming words than the colors they are printed in (Deakin 1). There is more interference when naming colors than when reading words. According to Stroop, naming the actual color of the words requires much more attention than simply reading the text. So when individuals are given the word “red”
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Each side of the brain controls different modes of thinking. The right side is more intuitive, holistic and synthesizing. It is responsible for perceiving colors and graphics. The left brain is more logical, sequential, and analytical. The left side of the brain is responsible for perceiving words and meanings. When people read read the words, their right brain tries to say the color of the text but the left brain insists on reading the word itself. This conflict causes the confusion in perception. Therefore, there is a delay in response time as the brain settles the conflict and tries to follow the