If you have ever taken an introductory level class in Psychology, chances are you learned about the Stroop task. \u00a0For those of you who haven’t, try this activity out for yourself; look at the list of words written below. Simply name the color ink the word is written in. It sounds easy enough, but is actually much harder than you might think.<\/p>\n
RED<\/b><\/span>,\u00a0<\/b>BLUE<\/b><\/span>, BLACK,\u00a0<\/b>ORANGE<\/b><\/span>,\u00a0<\/b>PINK<\/b><\/span>,\u00a0<\/b>GREEN<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n BLUE<\/b><\/span>,\u00a0<\/b>ORANGE<\/b><\/span>,\u00a0<\/b>GREEN<\/b><\/span>,\u00a0<\/b>RED<\/b><\/span>,\u00a0<\/b>PINK<\/b>,\u00a0<\/b>BLACK<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Undoubtedly you were able to read the first line with ease, but the second line, well that was a different story. Chances are you find yourself inclined to read the word initially and then must pause to actually say the color ink instead. This task can be frustrating! Why is it so hard? Why is the bottom row where color words are written in their inconsistent ink so much harder do than the top row where words are in consistent ink color?<\/p>\n When presented with words we are taught to read them, and have less experience ignoring the word meaning and simply stating the color. This makes this simple task not so simple. Fluent readers have what is know as reading automaticity; for them (and you if you are able to read this easily) reading is an automatic skill. In the Stroop Task however, we are asked not to read the word but state the color instead. The slower reaction time in naming the color when the word is inconsistent with the color is known as Stroop interference. The meaning of words interferes with our ability to name the color. If you presented this task to a young child for whom reading had not yet been mastered, or did it again yourself but this time with the words written in an unknown language, stating the color ink would be very easy to do without word interference.<\/p>\n Typically, Stroop interference occurs when reading is fluent and automatic.\u00a0 This then raises the question of how individuals with selective reading deficits such as dyslexia perform on this task? Very broadly, dyslexia is a learning disability that impairs an individual\u2019s comprehension accuracy and\/or fluency of reading. In a 2006 study, Protopapas, Archonti and Skaloumbakas, observed the relationship between reading skill and Stroop interference (again, that\u2019s slower reaction time at naming inconsistent color\/word pairings) in 7th<\/sup>\u00a0grade students. Some of the 7th<\/sup>\u00a0graders were at normal automatic reading ability and others were diagnosed with the dyslexia.\u00a0 Previous research suggests that Stroop interference is greatest among those for whom reading is a strong mastered automatic skill. This study, however, found the greatest Stroop interference among individuals with reading disability, and less interference for individuals with strong reading automaticity (reading fluency). \u00a0They found a negative relationship between Stroop interference and reading ability. As reading ability increased, Stroop interference decreased.<\/p>\n One of the possible sources of the increased Stroop effect among dyslexic individuals may be poor cognitive control resulting in difficulty inhibiting the desire to read the word instead of stating the color. \u00a0Poor cognitive control means that the individual has a difficult time changing certain behaviors depending on the instructions and situation. In this case, poor cognitive control would reflect the inability to suppress the desire to read (which is the most common response when presented with words), and instead name the color ink. Dyslexic and normal readers both have a difficult time stopping word processing before it acts as interference (as you probably experienced when engaging in the Stroop Task); however, automatic readers can control this interference much better than dyslexic readers can. Researchers Helland and Asbjorsen (2000) said that Stroop interference is due to dyslexic individual\u2019s \u201cimpaired executive function\u201d which essentially refers to poor cognitive control. Their ability to select relevant stimuli (in this case the color ink) is impaired. Dyslexic individuals have a harder time selectively paying attention to the color ink and inhibiting the response to the read the word when compared to individuals at normal automatic reading ability and thus show heightened Stroop interference.<\/p>\n In sum, this research suggests that dyslexia is not simply a reading disorder, but a disorder that also affects attentional control and executive function. Individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease are categorized by impaired executive function as well and similarly show heightened Stroop Interference. \u00a0Stroop Interference is not a phenomenon simply driven by reading automaticity but more importantly, is a function of attentional control.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Protopapas, A., Archonti, A., & Skaloumbakas, C. (2006). Reading ability is negatively related to stroop interference. Cognitive Psychology<\/i>, 54<\/i>(3), 251-282.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you have ever taken an introductory level class in Psychology, chances are you learned about the Stroop task. \u00a0For those of you who haven’t, try this activity out for yourself; look at the list of words written below. Simply name the color ink the word is written in. It sounds easy enough, but is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3890,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80216],"tags":[130382,130383,149745,272],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":763,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions\/763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}