Stroop Effect Test

A classic psychology test to measure your brain's processing speed and selective attention.

How to Play

You will see a series of color names (Red, Green, Blue, etc.) displayed on the screen.

Your goal is to click the button that matches the COLOR the word is printed in, NOT the word itself.

You have 30 seconds to get as many correct as possible. Incorrect answers will subtract from your score.

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What is the Stroop Effect?

The Stroop Effect is a classic psychological phenomenon discovered by John Ridley Stroop in 1935. It demonstrates the interference in reaction time when a word's meaning conflicts with its physical color.

When you see the word "RED" printed in blue ink, your brain automatically reads the word "RED" faster than it identifies the color blue. Because reading is a highly practiced, automatic process for most adults, your brain struggles to override the impulse to read the word in order to identify the font color instead.

Speed of Processing

This theory suggests that we can read words much faster than we can name colors. Because the word reading process happens more quickly, the meaning of the word interferes before the color can be identified.

Selective Attention

This theory states that naming the actual color of the word requires more attention and effort than simply reading the text. Your brain has to actively suppress the automatic reading response.

Automaticity

As we grow older and read more, reading becomes an automatic, habitual process. The Stroop test perfectly illustrates how hard it is to manually override an automated neurological function.

The Stroop Effect in Kids

Interestingly, very young children who haven't learned to read yet do better on this test than adults! Because reading isn't automatic for them, they can identify the colors without interference.

Frequently Asked Questions

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