The interference of various word parts on color naming in the Stroop test

Abstract

This study compared the interfering effects of various word parts on performance of the Stroop task. In different conditions, the first, middle, and last two letters of a color word formed color patches. In other conditions, random letters were attached to these word parts. In a control condition, entire words formed the color patches. While no condition produced as much interference as the control condition, the first part of a color word interfered with color naming more than other word parts. The addition of unrelated letters had little or no effect on the interference produced by the first part of a word. The results are consistent with suggestions that word perception often involves the activation of an articulatory motor program which is initiated by the first part of the word. © 1975 Psychonomic Society, Inc.