Naming colors is normally a very easy task; you can do it quickly and reliably. However, you may have seen textbook demonstrations or posters with the names of colors printed in colors (for example, “BLUE” printed in red ink). Those lists are much harder to read aloud quickly and accurately. You can demonstrate this with . For which set was it harder to say the color quickly and accurately? This is the Stroop effect, and it has been a popular demonstration ever since it was first described (Stroop, 1935). It suggests that, for most of us, reading is so automatic that it is difficult to suppress the impulse to read a word rather than say its color. As a control, try it again, but instead of saying the color, just read the word, ignoring the color in which it is printed. Are the color words still more difficult?
Now do . This experiment measures your reaction times and errors when identifying the colors of a set of words. Your reaction times will be measured, so it is important to answer quickly (use the arrow keys on the keyboard as instructed).
You probably saw an increased reaction time for the color names. This means that the Stroop effect applies not only to speaking the color, but even to identifying it and making a non-verbal response.