Semantic Power Measured through the Interference of Words with Color-Naming

Abstract

Show the words 'red,' 'green,' 'yellow,' and 'blue,' printed in colored inks but in incongruent combinations of color and word, e.g. the word 'red' printed in the color yellow, the word 'yellow' in the color blue, and so on. The Ss are to name the colors (of the inks) as quickly as possible, ignoring the words. It is not easy to do. Invariably, the colors are harder to name than when they are shown in simple strips uncomplicated by words. The phenomenon was noticed by Jaensch, and was first reported in this country by Stroop.1 To say that the word interferes with the naming of the color is a fair reflection of the S's experience. Volume of voice goes up; reading falters; now and then the words break through abortively; and there are embarrassed giggles. These and other signs of strain and effort are common. The sources of the word's power to interfere with color-naming and the events involved in the interference itself have not received much attention,