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Updated: May 15, 2025
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The Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional Content
Published on: June 29, 2016
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Sex differences in the association between error-related negativity and harm avoidance during emotional Stroop task
Yi-Mei Wang1, Ming-Kai Pan2, Wei-Lieh Huang3
1Cerebellar Research Center, National Taiwan University Hospital Yunlin Branch, Yunlin, Taiwan.
Summary
Personality trait harm avoidance is linked to error-related negativity (ERN) and emotional Stroop task performance in men, but not women. This suggests sex moderates the relationship between harm avoidance and cognitive-emotional responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Harm avoidance is a personality trait linked to negative emotionality.
- Error-related negativity (ERN) reflects response to errors.
- The emotional Stroop task assesses cognitive control and emotional processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between harm avoidance, ERN, and emotional Stroop task performance.
- To determine if sex moderates these relationships.
Main Methods:
- 40 healthy adults (17 men, 23 women) completed personality assessments and an emotional Stroop task.
- ERN was measured at FCz.
- Correlational and regression analyses were performed, including sex as a moderator.
Main Results:
- Harm avoidance interacted with sex to predict ERN in the full sample.
- In men, harm avoidance was significantly associated with ERN and emotional Stroop performance.
- These associations were not significant in women.
Conclusions:
- ERN and emotional Stroop task performance can be influenced by harm avoidance, particularly in men.
- These findings suggest sex-specific relationships between personality and cognitive-emotional markers.
- The study links ERN, emotional Stroop task, and harm avoidance to internalizing disorders.
