The hemispheric lateralization for processing geometric word/shape combinations: The stroop-shape effect

Abstract

The authors conducted 4 experiments to test whether hemispheric lateralization occurs for the processing of geometric word-shape combinations. In 3 experiments, participants responded to geometric shapes combined with geometric words (square, circle, triangle). In the 4th experiment, stimuli were combinations of geometric shapes and nongeometric words. The authors predicted that it would take longer to respond in incongruent conditions (e.g., the word "square" combined with the shape of a circle) than in congruent conditions. The authors found the strongest incongruency effects for the dominant hemisphere-that is, the left hemisphere for responding to words and the right hemisphere for responding to shapes. A Shape Interfering Properties hypothesis (SIP) is a possible explanation for these results. Copyright © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.