University Psychology: PSYC101 Stroop Effect Experiment Analysis

This assignment presents a practical experiment conducted to investigate the Stroop effect, a cognitive phenomenon demonstrating the interference in reaction time when processing conflicting information. The experiment involved participants reading lists of color words, both in congruent (e.g., the word "RED" written in red) and incongruent (e.g., the word "RED" written in green) formats. The aim was to determine if it takes more time to read the incongruent list compared to the congruent list. The methodology included rapport formation, detailed instructions, and time measurements for each list. The results indicated that participants took significantly longer to read the incongruent list, confirming the hypothesis. The analysis included the calculation of mean times and a discussion of relevant theories, such as selective attention and automaticity, to explain the observed effect. The conclusion supports the Stroop effect, highlighting the brain's difficulty in processing conflicting stimuli and the role of cognitive control in attention. The report also includes references to relevant psychological literature.

Riti Pani
220973
PSYC101
STROOP EFFECT EXPERIMENT
Introduction: The Stroop effect refers to a delay in reaction times between congruent and
incongruent stimuli (MacLeod, 1991). When the colours and words are conflicting, the brain
has work hard to filter out the conflicting signals. Reading is an automatic task and the brain
needs to be active and direct its attention to say the colour of the letters. The delay or
difficulty in doing this task is called is called the Stroop Effect. Even though the Stroop Test
was developed in the 1930s, the it is task is still very often used in cognitive psychological
laboratories to measure how well people can do things that clashes with their usual response
pattern. This exercise requires a certain level of "mental control" i.e., you need to actively be
aware of the task the you are doing and ignore how you would normally respond to words. This
requires "control" over your own default cognitive patterns. The Stroop test helps researchers
evaluate the level of a persons attention capacity and abilities, and how fast can they apply
them. It's particularly helpful in assessing Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or
ADHD.
Aim: To determine whether is takes more time to read the incongruent list then the congruent
list.
Hypothesis: the time taken to read the incongruent list will be more than the time taken to
read the congruent list.
Methodology:
Materials required:
1. List one – congruent colours and their names
2. list two – incongruent colours and their names
3. Timer
Preliminary information:
Name: Aiman Ghai
Age: 18
Sex: Male
Date of conduction: 20th September 2022
Place of conduction: Library reading room
Procedure:
• Rapport formation: the subject was brought to a quiet place in the library
where there were no distracting stimuli. The subject was put at ease and the
task was explained to them in a manner that they don’t get anxious. The
instructions were explained and the test was conducted.

• Instruction: this is a simple test on attention. There is no time limit and no
answer is incorrect. I will be showing you two lists. The first list is the
congruent list. You have to read the colour of the words out loud. For
example, RED is to be read as RED. The second list is the incongruent list.
You have to read the colour of the words out loud. For example, RED to be
read as GREEN, BLUE as RED, etc.
• Introspective report: “I am excited to do this experiment”
• Behavioural report: The subject was calm and focused and finishes the test
with ease.
Result:
Name of Participant Time taken to read
congruent list (list 1)
Time taken to complete
incongruent list (list 2)
Aiman Ghai 13.67 seconds 40.93 seconds
Ragini Choudhari 4.81 seconds 9.82 seconds
Siya Jain 12.55 seconds 41.56 seconds
Krisha Trivedi 14.23 seconds 43.14 seconds
Pazen Langrana 15.7 seconds 41.2 seconds
Analysis:
The time taken by subject 1 i.e. Aiman Ghai to read the congruent list was 13.67 and to read
the incongruent list was 40.93 seconds. Time taken to read incongruent list was more than the
time taken to read the congruent list.
The mean time taken by all subjects to read the congruent list was 12.19 seconds and mean
time taken to read the incongruent list was 35.33 seconds. The mean time taken to read
congruent words was more than the mean time taken to read the congruent list
Theory of Time Perception:
There are a few theories that explain Stroop Effect. One common theory is that our brains just
simply process words faster thank colours out of habit.
Another theory is the theory of Selective attention. Selective attention is the ability to focus
on one task at a time while filtering out eternal stimuli. This theory suggests that recognizing
colours requires more attention as compared to reading words. Because of this, the brain
needs to use more attention while attempting to name a colour, making this process a little
longer

Another theory is called Automacity. This theory suggests that recognizing colours is not an
automatic process, and thus there is a slight hesitancy when carrying out this process.
Automatic processing are processes in the mind that are relatively fast and requires fewer
cognitive resources. This type of information processing generally occurs outside of
conscious awareness, and is common when undertaking familiar and highly practised tasks.
Conclusion: The hypothesis was proven correct. The subjects took more time to read the
incongruent list than the congruent list. These subjects displayed a disparity in the speed of
reading the congruent list and reading the incongruent list. The main conclusion that can be
drawn from this experiment is that presenting the subject with the congruent stimuli will
mean that the subject can process information faster than when given the incongruent stimuli.
Works Referred
Ruhl, C. (n.d.). Stroop Effect. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from Simply Psychology
website: https://www.simplypsychology.org/stroop-effect.html#:~:text=Take-
home%20Messages%20In%20psychology%2C%20the%20Stroop%20effect%20is,co
lour%20of%20ink%20used%20to%20print%20the%20words.