Clash of the languages: The Stroop Effect

1. Clash of the languages: The Stroop Effect Laura Jennings and Timina Liu Year 10 Burgmann Anglican School

2. Aim: To observe how, and at what speed, the brain observes colour and words in accordance with the Stroop Effect theory. Hypothesis: The colours written in a foreign language are expected to be read faster than the colours written in English that conflict with the colour ink they are written in. Materials: • Words for colours in English and Russian • Stopwatch • 8 Participants

3. Method: • 8 participants were chosen to identify the colours of words and thematerials collected. • Each participant identified the colours of the English words in English written in their corresponding colours. The length of time the participant took to do this was recorded and then repeated two more times. • Each participant then identified the colours the words were written in on the second list. The length of time the participant took to do this was recorded and then repeated three times. • Each participant did the same for the two lists of Russian colours, both the words written in the corresponding colours and the words written in different colours. The length of time the participant took to do this was recorded and then repeated three times. • The 8 participants’ results were recorded and analysed.

4. Results: Graph 1 Graph 2 Graph 1 shows all participants read the English words written in the correct colours faster than the English words in mixed up colours. Graph 2 shows all participants read the English words written in the correct colours faster than the Russian words and correct colours.

5. Results: Graph 4 Graph 3 Graph 3 shows the majority of participants took longer to read the English words in mixed up colours than the Russian words and mixed up colours. Graph 4 shows the majority of participants took longer to read Russian words in mixed up colours than the Russian colours and correct words.

6. Discussion The English words written in the corresponding colours were read the quickest because words are read faster than the colours are identified. The left side of the brain is the dominant language side of the brain for about 96 per cent of people, which is why it is the first part of the brain to respond. With the Russian words and colours, the participants only identified the colour; they did not read the word because they did not understand the language. This meant that the two hemispheres of the brain did not conflict in the information it was receiving. However, as the right hemisphere is generally slower than the left hemisphere, it took longer to identify the colours than it took to read the words when they were in English (as shown in Graph 2). The results from the experiment may not be completely accurate because there were a few errors involved with the implementation of the experiment. Firstly, there were a few distractions around the participants such as noises and movement of objects or people while they were taking part in the investigation. These were not controlled and were different for each participant. The experiment could have been improved in a few ways to overcome these difficulties and errors. The participants could have completed the experiment in a quiet room with very few distractions.

7. Conclusion The results of this experiment show that it takes less time to read a word than to identify a colour. However, if the words and colours do not correspond, then it takes longer again to identify the colour due to the conflicting messages being received by the brain and the time taken to reconcile them and produce the appropriate output. This has been shown through the different parts of the investigation, with a combination of coloured ink and the different colours written in Russian and English. The results supported the hypothesis. The words written in Russian, both corresponding to the colour they were written in and not corresponding, generally took less time for the participants to read and identify than the English words that did not correspond to the colour they were written in. However, the English words that did correspond to the colours took the least amount of time out of all the different lists to be read by the participants. The results from this experiment are useful for further studies regarding the human brain and the hemispheres of the brain. The data gathered is especially useful for studying how the two hemispheres work with and against each other, as well as further research on strokes, epilepsy and other brain conditions.

8. Bibliography • StroopEffect. (2008). Retrieved August 23, 2011, from School of Professional Hypnosis: http://hypnosisschool.org/hypnotic/stroop-effect.php • Colors, Colors. (2010). Retrieved August 23, 2011, from Neuroscience For Kids: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/words.html • One Brain... or Two? (2010). Retrieved August 23, 2011, from Neuroscience For Kids: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/split.html • The Colors (English/ Russian). (2010). Retrieved August 23, 2011, from Enchanted Learning: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/colors/russian/ • Heyrman, D. H. (n.d.). Brain Zones/ Right and Left Hemispheres . Retrieved August 23, 2011, from Doctor Hugo: http://www.doctorhugo.org/brain/brain.html