Eliminating the Stroop Effect
Meredith Hughes, Grade 9
Problem
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Can warping the shape of words written
in different colors eliminate the Stroop
effect?
Research
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Dr. John Ridley Stroop discovered the Stroop effect in 1935.
The Stroop effect is the signals that are sent to the brain when a
person is reading the color of a written word.
Differences in required attention cause reading the colors in which
words are written to take longer than reading the word.
The anterior cingulate gyrus is the part of the brain between the
left and right halves that controls “executive functions” such as the
Stroop effect.
Executive functions are activities that involve either memory,
attention, problem-solving, or multi-tasking.
Cognitive flexibility is the ability of the brain to rearrange data in
accordance to the situation.
Many scientists believe that by warping the shape of the words
written, the Stroop effect can be eliminated.
Hypothesis

If words are warped, then the Stroop
effect will be negated.
◦ Many scientists believe that warping the shape
of the words written can lessen the difference
in signals sent to the brain and therefore
make executive functions easier to perform.
Materials:
20 volunteers
 1 homemade Stroop test
 1 warped Stroop test from
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/sciencefairprojects/project_ideas/HumBeh_p029.sht
ml
 1 stopwatch

Test A
Test A: Please state the color of the
ink in the following words.
Test B
Test B: Please state the color of the
ink in the following figures.
Procedure
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1. The Stroop tests were produced.
2. Twenty volunteers were found.
3.Volunteers were split into four groups of five people.
4. One group was tested on the regular Stroop test.
5. Three groups were tested on the warped Stroop test.
6. Data was recorded and organized.
7. Data was averaged and the standard deviation was found.
8. Results were concluded.
Control: the regular Stroop test
 Constants: same stopwatch, same tests for each person in the group,
25 total figures in each test
 Independent Variable: the Stroop test with warped words
 Dependent Variable: The outcome of the tests; the difference in reading
time averages between the two tests
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DATA
AVERAGE OF ALL GROUPS WITH
STANDARD DEVIATION
DATA
Comparison:Test A vs. Test B
Seconds
Eliminating the Stroop Effect
14.35
14.3
14.25
14.2
14.15
14.1
14.05
14
13.95
Test A
Test B
Test
Conclusion
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The hypothesis of “If words are warped, then
the Stroop effect will be negated” was not
supported by this experiment.
Advancements that could be taken to
improve this experiment include more
volunteers with a wider range of age, gender,
and level of intellect.
Possible flaws of this experiment include the
fact that all of the volunteers were high
school females.
Acknowledgements
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Works Cited:
◦ http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fairprojects/project_ideas/HumBeh_p029.shtml
◦ http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/words.html
◦ http://snre.umich.edu/eplab/demos/st0/stroopdesc.ht
ml
◦ http://www.amenclinics.com/clinics/Professionals/how
-we-can-help/brain-science/anterior-cingulate-gyrusacg/
◦ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC53241/
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Thank you for your attention.