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Updated: Mar 3, 2026
Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task
Published on: February 26, 2020
Inclusion of a Mixed Condition Makes the Day/Night Task More Analogous to the Adult Stroop
Alleyne P R Broomell1, Martha Ann Bell1
1a Department of Psychology , Virginia Tech , Blacksburg , Virginia.
Insights
This study found that a mixed condition in the day/night task, similar to the adult Stroop task, better reflects children's cognitive load. Performance was highest on congruent trials, indicating task difficulty increases with complexity.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- The day/night task is a common measure of executive function in children.
- Its direct equivalence to adult tasks like the color-word Stroop task remains debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the utility of a "mixed condition" in the day/night task for assessing cognitive load in 4-year-old children.
- To compare performance and cognitive load across congruent, incongruent, and mixed conditions.
Main Methods:
- Children aged 4 years completed a modified day/night task including congruent, incongruent, and mixed trial conditions.
- Behavioral data (accuracy, response time) and electroencephalography (EEG) were recorded.
Main Results:
- Children performed best on congruent trials, with no significant difference between incongruent and mixed conditions in accuracy.
- EEG data revealed increasing frontal power and coherence from congruent to incongruent to mixed conditions, suggesting escalating cognitive load.
- Response times also indicated a pattern of increasing difficulty across conditions.
Conclusions:
- The mixed condition of the day/night task appears to be a more sensitive measure of cognitive load in young children, analogous to the adult color-word Stroop task.
- This modified task provides a better child-equivalent for studying executive functions and cognitive control development.
Abstract:
In a study with 4-year-old children, we added a mixed condition to the traditional day/night task to examine performance and response times for congruent and incongruent trials within the same condition. There were no differences in percentage correct performance between the incongruent and mixed conditions; however, children performed best on the congruent condition. EEG recordings showed differential patterns of frontal power and coherence suggesting increasing cognitive load from congruent to incongruent to mixed conditions. Our pattern of findings suggest that the mixed condition of the day/night Stroop task is a more appropriate child equivalent to the adult color-word Stroop task.
