Stroop effect

noun

The effect that a subject has a longer reaction time when naming the colours of words if the words describe colours other than their own (such as "red" printed in blue ink).

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Meanings

nounStroop effect (plural Stroop effects)

plural Stroop effects

  1. human sciencesThe effect that a subject has a longer reaction time when naming the colours of words if the words describe colours other than their own (such as "red" printed in blue ink).

Origin

After John Ridley Stroop, who first published the effect in English in 1935.

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Cite this entry
APA

Stroop effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stroop%20effect

MLA

“Stroop effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stroop%20effect. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Stroop effect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stroop%20effect.

Source: Stroop effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.