Theory

The Stroop effect is a psychological phenomenon demonstrating how our brain reacts in case it has to process two conflicting types of information. It occurs because the process of reading is performed automatically, without thinking; however, tasks like recognizing colors require more attention and focus.

Participants will be shown the words (eg: GREEN, BLUE, RED etc) that are in various colors; e.g., the word RED shown in BLUE, or vice versa. They have to name the color of the word as fast as they can ignoring the meaning of the word. The task exists in two forms:

• Congruent: The word matches the color (e.g., the word "RED" shown in RED color).
• Incongruent: The word does not match the color (e.g., the word "RED" shown in BLUE color).

When the meaning of word and the color don’t match, it causes a conflict in our brain, making it harder to respond. This means participants are usually slower and more likely to make mistakes in the incongruent trials.

The Stroop effect, discovered by John Ridley Stroop in 1935, helps us understand how automatic and controlled brain processes work together. It is widely used to study attention, memory, and how the brain controls tasks.