Lab Report 1: Emotional Stroop Effect

S M Ridwan

2011723030

PSY 101L Section- 20

Dr Tasnuva Enam

North South University

INTRODUCTION:

The emotional stroop effect is the contrast in the performance of naming colours between

neutral and emotional stimuli (Algom, Chajut, & Lev, 2004). It exhibits the latency in the case of

naming colours (Haim et al.,2016). This test is an attempt to recognize the attributes of a person,

including attention, mood and how they perceive certain emotions (Haim et al., 2016). However,

it can recognize anxiety, depression or other forms of mental illness in a person.

In research comprising 44 participants, it has been hypothesized that “the high-withdrawal-

motivation negative stimuli produced stronger emotional Stroop effects than the low-withdrawal-

motivation negative stimuli", which can be modulated by motivational intensity comprised in the

negative stimuli (Quan et al., 2020). The paper will hypothesize the notion that emotional words

will evoke a longer reaction time than neutral words.

METHOD:

Participant:

The subject selected for the experiment was from BUET. The participant's age was

around 24, and the Gender was male. The participant was ethnically Bangladeshi.

Materials and Design:

The materials used to experiment were a stopwatch, computer and internet connection.

All the words exhibiting different colours on the screen were the independent variables, and the

subject's reaction time is considered the dependent variable. The independent variables were

divided into 4 blocks, namely emotional and neutral words, divided into two treatment groups.
Two blocks consisted of emotional words, and the other two consisted of neutral words. The

reaction times for telling the colour of the words in a particular block were measured.

Procedure:

The experiment was conducted in an enclosed room where the researcher and the subject

sat facing each other, and the instructor was in the google meet call to overview the procedure.

At first, the subject was shown the consent form, which consisted of the details of the

experiment. The subject consented to participate in the experiment. After that, the subject was

shown the words from which he had to tell the colour of the word only. Saying the word itself

will lead to failure. The first block consisted of emotional words. The subject told the colour of

the words one after another and was timed meanwhile. The total time of an individual block was

considered, and later on, the average was calculated. The next two blocks consisted of neutral

words leading to the last block, another emotional block. The experiment concluded when all the

blocks were named and timed. Lastly, the subject was shown gratitude for participating in the

experiment. RESULTS:

Type of Word (Word Total Reaction Time Average Reaction Time

Valence) (seconds) (seconds)

Neutral Words Block 1 6.14 1.228

Neutral Words Block 2 5.75 1.15

Total 11.89 2.378

Emotional Words Block 1 6.74 1.348

Emotional Words Block 2 5.99 1.198

Total 12.73 2.546

 The reaction time attained for the four blocks are:

For the first neutral words block, the reaction time was 6.14 seconds, followed by an average of

1.228 seconds. Similarly, the other neutral block is 5.75 seconds with an average of 1.15

seconds. Hence, the neutral word block accounts for 11.89 seconds with a total average time of

2.378 seconds. For the emotional block, the first emotional block was 6.74 seconds, with an

average of 1.348 seconds. Additionally, the second emotional block accounts for 5.99 seconds

with an average of 1.198 seconds. After adding, a total of 12.73 seconds and a total average of

2.546 seconds was attained.

DISCUSSION:

The reaction times of all four blocks are quite close. However, we see a descent in

number since the test began with Emotional Words Block 1 followed by Neutral Words Block 1.

Hence, it is safe to assume that the subject adapted to the notion of telling the colour of the

words, which led to a better reaction time. Since all the reaction times are similar or close, it can

be assumed that the participant does not have an association with emotional traumas from the

past. Nevertheless, the experiment was not conducted in a controlled milieu. The experiment was

conducted in a homely environment, including noises and disruptions.

Moreover, there was a selection bias since the subject was not randomly chosen.

Furthermore, there might be a test-retest effect where the participant might have. Other than that,

there were no other anomalies during the experimentation. The experiment should be taken in a

controlled ambience to avoid instances that might affect the end results to amend these problems.

Again, choosing random participants will amend the selection bias and asking the participant
whether they had participated in a similar experiment prior to the conduction will eradicate the

test-retest effect. Hence, by implementing these, a proper experiment can be conducted.

CONCLUSION:

The emotional stroop effect helps recognize whether a person has emotional traumas or

something that bothers a person emotionally. The difference between the reaction time of both

neutral and emotional blocks help to figure out OCD, PTSD, anxiety or depression. Although the

test subject showed no substantial delay, some people show a bigger delay between the words

since they might have an emotional trauma associated with that particular word.
REFERENCES:

Algom, D., Lev, S., Chajut, E., (2004). A Rational Look at the Emotional Stroop Phenomenon: A

Generic Slowdown, Not a Stroop Effect. 133(3), 323–338, DOI: 10.1037/0096-

3445.133.3.323, Retrieved from:

https://web.archive.org/web/20170829015842id_/http://freud.tau.ac.il/~algomd/Algom

%20Chajut%20&%20Lev%20(2004).pdf

Haim, M. S. B., Williams, P., Algom, D., Eidels, A., Mama, Y., and Howard, Z., (2016). The

Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional

Content. (112): 53720. doi: 10.3791/53720. Retrieved from:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4993290/

Quan, S., Wang, Z., & Liu, Y. (2020). The Emotional Stroop Effect Is Modulated by the

Biological Salience and Motivational Intensity Inherent in Stimuli. Frontiers in

Psychology. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03023