The Stroop Effect and Attention: Effect of Automatic and Controlled Processing on the Performance of a Colour Identification Task. Essay Example
The Stroop effect and attention: Effect of automatic and controlled processing on the performance of a colour identification task.
Abstract
The present experiment aimed to carry out a modification of the experiment on automatic processes carried out by Stroop and to discover whether automatic processing could intrude on a colour identification task. Stoop’s original research found that the response time reading the colour of the ink of the words describing different colour was greater than reading the colour of the ink of neutral words. The present experiment was to retest the Stroop effect, and to quantify the intrusion of automatic processing. The results showed that the time to read the ink colour of colour-associated words was greater than that of the neutral words and suggested that involuntary interference of automatic process could effect people’s attention during controlled task.
Introduction
Attention is a system, which allows us to select and process certain significant incoming information. Selective attention helps us to focus on one task at a time, excluding any external stimuli, which may be distracting. Divided attention refers to the ability to divide ones attention between two or more tasks. If some processing activities become automatic as a result of prolonged practice it becomes easier to divide ones attention between these two tasks. Automatic processes are believed to be fast, require no attention and are unavoidable. However, interference can occur between the controlled process and the automatic process. Reading words, as an automatic activity can interfere with other tasks. Many psychologists studied the idea of attention as a process of selection.
Kahneman (1973) suggested that within the brain there is some sort of limited-capacity central processor, responsible for analysing incoming information and integrating it with information already held in memory. He proposed that some tasks, such as reading task, once automatic
Abstract
The present experiment aimed to carry out a modification of the experiment on automatic processes carried out by Stroop and to discover whether automatic processing could intrude on a colour identification task. Stoop’s original research found that the response time reading the colour of the ink of the words describing different colour was greater than reading the colour of the ink of neutral words. The present experiment was to retest the Stroop effect, and to quantify the intrusion of automatic processing. The results showed that the time to read the ink colour of colour-associated words was greater than that of the neutral words and suggested that involuntary interference of automatic process could effect people’s attention during controlled task.
Introduction
Attention is a system, which allows us to select and process certain significant incoming information. Selective attention helps us to focus on one task at a time, excluding any external stimuli, which may be distracting. Divided attention refers to the ability to divide ones attention between two or more tasks. If some processing activities become automatic as a result of prolonged practice it becomes easier to divide ones attention between these two tasks. Automatic processes are believed to be fast, require no attention and are unavoidable. However, interference can occur between the controlled process and the automatic process. Reading words, as an automatic activity can interfere with other tasks. Many psychologists studied the idea of attention as a process of selection.
Kahneman (1973) suggested that within the brain there is some sort of limited-capacity central processor, responsible for analysing incoming information and integrating it with information already held in memory. He proposed that some tasks, such as reading task, once automatic