Effects of irrelevant colors on reading of color names: A controlled replication of the “reversed Stroop” effect

Abstract

Gumenik & Glass (1970) claimed to have shown a reversed form of Stroop interference in which implicit naming responses to irrelevant colors delayed the reading of color words combined with the colors. In their study, a legibility reduction that did not affect color visibility was interpreted as increasing this interference from color naming to the “weakened” reading response. However, their results could have been only the result of lower legibility for the colored words compared to the control black words. The legibility reduction would be expected to increase any initial legibility difference between colored and black words. In the present study, a neutral word condition and a reduced legibility control condition were included, and evidence was obtained for a bona fide “reversed interference” that was not the result of legibility differences or naming practice. The results were discussed in terms of a symmetrical failure of selective attention to focus on either the color or word analyzer. © 1972, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.