Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026
07:21
The Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional Content
Published on: June 29, 2016
Psychological distance and reaction time in a Stroop task
Giorgio De Marchis1, María del Prado Rivero Expósito, José Manuel Reales Avilés
1Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain, giorgiodemarchis@ccinf.ucm.es.
Cognitive Processing
|June 5, 2013
Summary
The semantic gradient in the Stroop task shows that interference increases exponentially as the semantic distance between words and color concepts decreases. This finding was robust across different stimuli.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psycholinguistics
- Experimental Psychology
Background:
- The Stroop effect, a well-known cognitive phenomenon, can be influenced by various interference sources.
- The semantic component, or semantic effect, contributes to Stroop interference, increasing as semantic distance between word and color concepts diminishes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the precise function relating the semantic gradient to psychological distance in a Stroop task.
- To quantify the relationship between semantic dissimilarity and response interference.
Main Methods:
- Measured the semantic gradient of words related to color concepts.
- Obtained subjective ratings of word-color dissimilarity.
- Analyzed the relationship between semantic distance and Stroop interference using quantitative methods.
- Replicated the experiment with varied stimuli to ensure result robustness.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that Stroop task interference increases exponentially as the semantic distance between the word and the color concept decreases.
- Confirmed a quantifiable relationship between semantic proximity and cognitive interference.
Conclusions:
- The semantic gradient significantly impacts Stroop interference in a predictable, exponential manner.
- The findings underscore the role of semantic relationships in cognitive processing and interference.
