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The Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional Content
Published on: June 29, 2016
A systematic meta-analysis of the Stroop task in depression.
Amanda M Epp1, Keith S Dobson, David J A Dozois
1Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4. amepp@ucalgary.ca
Clinical Psychology Review
|March 31, 2012
Summary
This meta-analysis quantitatively confirms significant Emotional Stroop task effects in depression, challenging previous qualitative reviews. Greater depression severity correlated with larger Stroop effects, suggesting attentional biases are robust.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Previous qualitative reviews on the Emotional Stroop task in depression yielded equivocal findings.
- A quantitative summary was needed to clarify Stroop performance in depressive populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively synthesize data from published studies on the Emotional Stroop task in depression.
- To investigate the robustness and characteristics of Stroop effects in individuals with depression.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search identified 47 relevant studies.
- Meta-analysis was employed to quantitatively analyze data from these studies.
- Effect sizes were calculated for depression-related Stroop effects.
Main Results:
- Large and robust depression-related Stroop effects were observed for both negative (g=.98) and positive (g=.87) stimuli.
- No strong emotion-congruent bias was found, but effect sizes increased with depression severity.
- These effects were present even without priming or self-relevant stimuli.
Conclusions:
- The findings challenge schema-based theories and previous qualitative interpretations of the Emotional Stroop effect in depression.
- Further comparative behavioral research in clinically depressed populations may not be necessary.
- Future research should focus on underlying mechanisms and direct measures of attentional bias in depression.
