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Stroop effect in words that differ from color words in one letter only
1Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. bibi@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|February 24, 2001
Summary
The Stroop effect, measuring automatic reading, is influenced by where a letter is changed in a word. Modifying the last letter of a color word significantly impacts this effect, challenging current theories.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psycholinguistics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- The Stroop effect is a well-established phenomenon demonstrating interference in reaction time when processing conflicting information.
- Automaticity in reading is often explained by memory retrieval processes, suggesting rapid, effortless word recognition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how the location of a letter change in Hebrew color words affects the magnitude of the Stroop effect.
- To challenge the exclusive reliance on memory retrieval accounts for explaining automatic reading and the Stroop effect.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted using Hebrew color words and non-color words differing by a single letter.
- Participants performed a color-naming task, identifying the ink color of presented words.
Main Results:
- The magnitude of the Stroop effect varied based on the position of the altered letter.
- The effect was smallest when the first letter was changed and largest when the last letter was changed.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest that automatic reading, as evidenced by the Stroop effect, is not solely explained by memory retrieval.
- Letter position plays a crucial role in both facilitation and inhibition within the Stroop task, necessitating refined models of automaticity.