Stroop interference with long preexposures of the word: Comparison of pure and mixed preexposure sequences

Abstract

The delay of color naming when the patches are incongruent color names was studied as a function of the duration of a preexposure of the word in black prior to coloration. Individual word and control stimuli were presented in a tachistoscope, and naming latencies were recorded with a voice key. Interference decreased to very low levels at 2 sec of preexposure, then increased to intermediate levels for longer preexposures. Facilitation of color-naming by congruent color names generally paralleled interference effects. Sequences of stimuli in which the preexposure interval varied randomly from trial to trial showed longer color-naming times for short preexposures than did sequences where all stimuli in the sequence used the same preexposure. The utility of this and a related procedure for study of the central activity produced by viewing a written word was discussed. © 1974, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.