Essay Example - "Stroop" Test

The "Stroop" test is a neurophysiological test that is used to test the ability of the human brain to change its frequent perception when faced with a different situation than what it is accustomed to and give the appropriate response. The "Stroop" test also tests participants on the ability to be attentive and direct the focus of their thoughts to the task they are undertaking so that they can give the appropriate response. Heading attention towards one activity is difficult and tiresome for the brain, and this results in a condition known as directed attention fatigue which lowers the overall mental effectiveness to focus on the business for a considerable period. The stoop test is used for both clinical and psychological tests and largely depends on the language processing ability of the human mind. The test involves a set of congruent and incongruent criteria. The congruent trials include color names written in the same ink color as the word; for example, the word green is printed in green color. At the same time, the incongruent trials included color names being written in different ink color. For example, the word green wrote in red ink. It was found that participants easily read words that were written in the same ink as the color name, whereas they took more time to name the color in the incongruent test. The automatic impulse of the brain is reading the word itself, and therefore participants find it challenging to process the name of the ink used to print the word. In most cases, they forget and read the word itself.

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The explanation for the varied results in naming the word and color inks could be interference. The reading of the phrase and naming of color ink used to print the world are two responses within the same set that conflict and hence inhibit the brain from giving the accurate answer. The computation of processing the color names is interrupted by reading the word Over the years, researchers in the field of psychology have tried to come up with different versions of the "Stroop" test. Still, the word color test remains to be the most widely used. The stoop test effect is detected using the stoop test, and it is used to diagnose neurological and psychiatric disorders. For example, complications that might affect the brain's processing ability, planning, decision making, and managing interference. This mental disorders might inhibit one's mind from functioning appropriately for example if someone is not able to manage interference then this may hinder them from executing two tasks at the same time such as; if you are driving and texting and your brain is not able to perform the two tasks simultaneously then you might concentrate on texting and lose control of the car causing an accident. Other interference disorders that the tool is used to detect include attention deficit disorder, depression, schizophrenia and addictions.

An emotional imbalance has also been found to be a contributor in the way in which participants respond in the "Stroop" test. For example, people suffering from depression and post-traumatic effects will tend to lose focus when they have to read words that relate to their traumatic experiences. This proves that emotions also play a role in the way the brain perceives distracting and irrelevant information when executing tasks.

References

Ben-Haim, M. S., Mama, Y., Icht, M., & Algom, D. (2014). Is the emotional Stroop task a special case of mood induction? Evidence from sustained effects of attention under emotion. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 76(1), 81-9

Comalli Jr, P. E., Wapner, S., & Werner, H. (1962). Interference effects of Stroop color-word test in childhood, adulthood, and aging. The Journal of genetic psychology, 100(1), 47-53.

Jensen, A. R., & Rohwer Jr, W. D. (1966). The Stroop color-word test: a review. Acta Psychologica, 25, 36-93.