Concentration Test

Here is a test of your concentration. There is a psychological test called the stroop test, one
element of which shows colour words in a range of colours. For instance, 'red' may actually
be written in yellow. This concentration test below is built on this idea, but instead of testing
your speed it tests your ability to concentrate and focus.

Below are 50 colour words, displayed in a range of colours. What we want you to do is go
along at a reasonable pace, and say OUT LOUD the COLOUR of the text you see, not what
the text itself says. See how many words you can get through without making a mistake.
You may find it tricky to both concentrate on saying the words and checking whether you
got it right or not at once, so one simple method would be to work with a partner on this, or
indeed if you are having some light relief from work in the office then ask a colleague to
check over your shoulder that you are getting things right as you go along!

As you can see, this is a great test of concentration, as when you lose a little focus that is
when you will make a mistake. You can repeat the test as many times as you like - a
different list of colours will appear below each time. Once you manage all 50 regularly, try
building up speed and improve concentration even more!

Some people report finding this test much harder than others and making slower progress.
If you find that you have particular difficulties with the puzzle, then try printing it out (in
colour of course) and see if that helps. Others suggest going through line by line or even
isolating word by word to avoid the distraction of the surrounding words. Certainly our
natural predisposition to 'read ahead' can get us in trouble with a concentration puzzle like
this as, because all the words relate to the same subject matter, we can accidentally say the
next colour we see before having said the one of the word we are currently on.

PINK RED PURPLE GREEN GREEN RED BLUE PINK

PINK PURPLE

RED GREEN BLUE PINK ORANGE BLUE PINK RED

GREEN RED

GREEN ORANGE PURPLE PURPLE PINK RED RED

GREEN ORANGE BLUE

GREEN PURPLE ORANGE GREEN ORANGE PINK

PURPLE GREEN RED ORANGE

GREEN PINK GREEN ORANGE GREEN PURPLE PINK

ORANGE BLUE ORANGE