Stroop Test
How the Stroop Test Works
The Stroop Effect is a classic psychology experiment demonstrating cognitive interference, which happens when your brain processes conflicting information.
- A color word appears (like "RED" or "BLUE")
- The word is displayed in a color that may or may not match
- Press Match if the word matches its color
- Press No Match if they're different
Why Is This Hard?
Your brain reads the word automatically, but must override that to identify the color. This requires cognitive control: the ability to suppress automatic responses.
Fun Fact: Named after John Ridley Stroop who published this effect in 1935, the Stroop Test is still used today to assess attention, processing speed, and cognitive flexibility.