PSYC 2385 Stroop Quiz | Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Please complete all questions. While you may choose to submit answers multiple times, only the MOST RECENT submission found at the quiz completion time will be graded (regardless of which submission has the most correct answers). Good luck!

Question 1

Amir is explaining the Stroop task to his pal Tammy. He describes the steps and conditions involved in the Stroop task, as well as how the results of each condition are measured. “It sounds like this task measures the effects of distraction on how well we can sort through different stimuli,” says Tammy. How would you respond to this statement? PICK ONE of the following options:

The Stroop task can be considered a task measuring the effect of distractions on how well we can sort stimuli, but unlike most distraction tasks, in the Stroop task, both the distraction and the feature we must attend to when sorting will activate our visual systems

The Stroop task can be considered a task measuring the effect of distractions on how well we can sort stimuli, but unlike most distraction tasks, in the Stroop task, we use multiple measures of “sorting proficiency” to verify our results

The Stroop task can be considered a task measuring the effect of distractions on how well we can sort stimuli – there are no major distinctions between the Strop task and other tasks involving distraction

The Stroop task should not be considered a task measuring the effects of distraction, since the majority of people completing this task sort equally well regardless of which condition they face

Question 2

Variables List

i -- The colour of the words

ii -- The placement of the words

iii -- The average accuracy of the participant when sorting word stimuli

iv -- The amount of time required to sort all 60 word stimuli

v -- The meaning of the words

vi -- Whether the meaning of the words matched the colour of the words

vii -- Whether the visual characteristics of the words matched the physical characteristics of the words

viii -- Whether the word stimuli were neutral or incongruent

ix -- The total number of words correctly sorted

x -- The average amount of time required to sort each word stimulus

xi -- The total number of words sorted incorrectly

xii -- The cognitive abilities of each participant

From the following options, please determine which is/are the BEST description/descriptions of the independent variable/variables for the word/colour stroop task.

i and ii

iii and x

v and viii

vi only

vii only

Question 3

Variables List2

i -- The colour of the words

ii -- The placement of the words

iii -- The average accuracy of the participant when sorting word stimuli

iv -- The amount of time required to sort all 60 word stimuli

v -- The meaning of the words

vi -- Whether the meaning of the words matched the colour of the words

vii -- Whether the visual characteristics of the words matched the physical characteristics of the words

viii -- Whether the word stimuli were neutral or incongruent

ix -- The total number of words correctly sorted

x -- The average amount of time required to sort each word stimulus

xi -- The total number of words sorted incorrectly

xii -- The cognitive abilities of each participant

From the following options, please determine which is/are the BEST description/descriptions of the dependent variable/variables for the word/colour stroop task. 1 point for each correct answer. 1 point deduction for each incorrect answer.

xii only

iii and x

iv and xi

i and ii

vii only

Question 4a

Toby wants to run an exact replication of the word/colour Stroop task we completed in class: she writes out a list of variables she’d like to control for the experiment, as well as a quick justification for WHY they should be controlled. From her list (see below), please select which controlled variable did NOT apply to this experiment OR was NOT justified well.

The number of word stimuli presented in each condition should be the same since presenting additional stimuli may strain attention and negatively impact task performance

An equal number of males and females should be present in the classroom because intelligence research indicates that there are often important gender differences in spatial reasoning

The total number of colours used should be the same for both conditions, since having to select from a larger array of options may cause participants to perform poorly

The buttons on all the screens should be the same size for all conditions and computers because ergonomic factors such as this could influence how well participants sort through the stimuli

The task should be completed at the same time of day for both conditions, since students may be more focused earlier in the day than in the evening, which in turn, could affect task performance

Question 4b

Toby tells her supervisor that she would like every participant in her word/colour Stroop task to be in BOTH CONDITIONS to help remove any difference between conditions that might be due to participant variables (e.g. inherent computer skill levels or perceptual abilities). Toby's research supervisor recommends that her experiment use a methodological technique known as COUNTERBALANCING. Which of the following options gives the BEST explanation for why counterbalancing is important?

Counterbalancing human error with a technological interface will improve the validity of the results because, without counterbalancing, the results from one condition could be recorded incorrectly, thus leading us to believe an effect exists when it doesn't

The order in which each participant completes each condition should be counterbalanced to ensure that any observed performance differences between conditions are NOT due to practice effects or fatigue effects

Each workstation should be counterbalanced to ensure that participants who complete the task more slowly don't gain a performance advantage over participants who complete the task very quickly

The participants who complete the task should be counterbalanced between multiple classes and campuses to ensure that the results can generalize to the entire university population

Counterbalancing the experimenters will help reduce experimental bias and ensure honest results reporting

Question 5

Question 5 Charts A-D

Using these charts, please determine which, if any, show the data that your class generated for the word/colour stroop task.

Chart A

Chart B

Chart C

Chart D

None of the above

Question 6

Yosef is a student at a neighbouring university who ran a slightly DIFFERENT version of the word/colour Stroop task than the one we completed (i.e. some of the variables he used may have been different than the ones we used). Yosef has included 95% confidence interval error bars in his charts – if mean values for two different conditions have error bars that do NOT overlap, in this case, we know that the differences between those two means are statistically significant. Using the charts (Chart F and Chart G) Yosef has made of his results, which of the following interpretations is most accurate.

Question 6 Charts F and G

Congruent stimuli are significantly easier to sort than incongruent stimuli

Congruent stimuli are easier to sort than incongruent when measuring sorting abilities in one way, but more difficult to sort than incongruent stimuli when measuring sorting abilities in another way

Incongruent stimuli are easier to sort than congruent stimuli when measuring sorting abilities in one way, but when measuring sorting abilities in another way, we cannot conclude that there are any differences between congruent and incongruent stimuli

Congruent stimuli are easier to sort than incongruent stimuli when measuring sorting abilities in one way, but when measuring sorting abilities in another way, we cannot conclude that there are any differences between congruent and incongruent stimuli

None of these interpretations are accurate given these results

Question 7

multiple measures reasons

i -- For any given participant, as speed increases accuracy would be expected to increase

ii -- For any given participant, as speed increases, accuracy would be expected to decrease

iii -- Completing the task multiple times helps ensure that the values measured are reliable

iv --- Using two different conditions is essential for a study to be considered a true experiment

Yosef hands in his finished report as a part of a school project. His professor notes that measuring task performance using two different dependent variables was a wise choice. Select one or more of the following statements to BEST explain why using two different dependent variables is important for a Stroop task?

ii only

i and iii

ii and iii

i and iv

ii and iv

Question 8

Mariah is writing a research paper on the Stroop effect, and writes the paragraph and references section shown in Item H. Which (if any) of the following are ERRORS that Mariah has made (assuming she is using APA 6 formatting)?

Question 8 Item I

list of apa formatting errors

i -- The article she is using should be cited in-text when it is first mentioned, not at the end of the paragraph

ii -- The in-text citation requires a page number in this situation

iii -- The in-text citation should include the first initial of all contributing authors

iv -- The year of publication should not be included in the in-text citation

v -- The paragraph must include a direct quote from the article to comply with APA 6 guidelines

vi -- The year of publication should not be in parenthesis for the references section

vii -- The volume # for the article should not be printed in italics

i only

ii and vii

iii and v

iv and vi

None of the above

there are no formatting errors

Question 9

In the celebrity stroop task, an incongruent deck consisted of _________ (please select from the following options)

Question 10

In the celebrity stroop task, the incongruent deck was sorted __________ (please select from the following options)

By faces only

By names only

By both names and faces

Alphabetically only

By shape only

Alphabetically and by shape

By colour only

By direction only

By both colour and direction

Question 11

The PURPOSE of sorting the incongruent deck in the celebrity Stroop task the way described in Question 10 was to find out ________ (please select the BEST and most specific response from the following options)

The effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable

How quickly people can sort cards under different conditions

How accurately people can sort cards under different conditions

Whether visual processing is more automatic than a motor response

Whether incongruent words vs. incongruent facial features disrupt cognitive processes to different degrees

Whether incongruent words vs. congruent words disrupt cognitive processes to different degrees

Whether incongruent faces vs. congruent faces disrupt cognitive processes to different degrees

Whether previous experiments are accurate and valid

Question 12

Graphs I and J are graphs of the results obtained by your class for the celebrity Stroop task. Once again, these graphs are shown with 95% confidence interval error bars, so if mean values for two different conditions have error bars that do NOT overlap, in this case, we know that the differences between those two means are statistically significant. How would you interpret the class results? Select all that apply (1 point for each correct answer, 1 point deduction for each incorrect answer):

Question 12 Charts I & J

We did not have any significant findings

We saw significant differences between average sorting times for each sorting method regardless of the type of deck that was used

We saw significant differences between average sorting times for each sorting method decks when using one type of deck but not another

We saw significant differences between the average number of errors made for each sorting method when using one type of deck but not another

We saw significant differences between average number of errors made for each sorting method regardless of the type of deck that was used

Question 13

There is no title for Graph I (there is also no title for Graph J, but that won't be important for this question). Based on the information presented within Graph I, please suggest a proper graph title which provides as much detail as possible about the graph contents in 200 characters or less (2 points):

Question 14

Mernaz is a researcher who theorizes that the Stroop effect (i.e. any observed performance deficits on a Stroop task for incongruent stimuli compared to congruent stimuli) can be explained as the result of automatic cognitive processes interfering with effortful processing. In the case of the word/colour stroop task, she notes that reading and understanding the meaning of a word is an automatic process, while detecting and responding to an object’s colour requires more effort. She notes that experience could affect how automatic a cognitive process is: since we spend more time in our daily lives reading words than identifying objects by colour, reading is more automatic for most people. Assuming that Mernaz’s explanation is correct, and taking the class results from the celebrity Stroop task into consideration, select statements from the following list which would most likely also be true.

list of possible conclusions

i -- If we completed a different version of the word/colour Stroop task where participants identify the word’s meaning rather than the font colour, we likely would have observed large, significant performance deficits for incongruent trials vs. congruent trials

ii -- Reading words is always the most automatic form of processing evoked by visual stimuli, and thus, it will always be easier and faster to complete reading tasks than other performance tasks involving visual stimuli

iii -- People who work in jobs such as retail or manufacturing that require employees to sort objects by colour quickly and automatically for many hours per week may not exhibit typical performance deficits in the word/colour stroop task we completed in class to compared to the general population

iv -- If less familiar faces were used (e.g. the faces of historical military generals or nobel prize winners rather than famous pop music juggernauts) in the celebrity Stroop task, participants may have exhibited impaired performance (relative to task performance if celebrity faces were used) when sorting by faces using an incongruent deck.

v -- If more familiar faces were used (e.g. the faces of close family members or friends) in the celebrity Stroop task, participants may have exhibited impaired performance (relative to task performance if celebrity faces were used) when sorting by faces using an incongruent deck.

i and iii

ii and iv

ii and v

iii and iv

i, ii, iii and iv

i, ii, iii and v

Question 15

Question 15 Description Text

For the short answer section, please choose one of the following two prompts, and write a brief response (1000 characters or less). You will receive 6 points for your written content, and 3 points for writing quality. Be sure to note which prompt you are using (A or B).

Option A: No experiment is perfect. A methodological limitation is any problem that could potentially affect the accuracy, precision, reliability or generalizability of the experiment’s results (often by introducing additional sources of variation in the dependent variable). For the Stroop experiment of your choice (either the word/colour Stroop task or the celebrity Stroop task), (1) please identify TWO methodological limitations, (2) explain SPECIFICALLY how each limitation could have affected the results, and (3) list methodological improvements that could allow future researchers to avoid each problem you’ve identified.

Option B: If you were given a chance to explore more about the Stroop effect, what would you do? Please (1) specify two NEW research questions that you could answer using an experiment involving a Stroop task, and then (2) briefly describe different experiments you would use to answer EACH separate research question. Make sure that the experiment you’ve described is, in fact, a Stroop task, and that it contains enough detail (including the different experimental conditions, task-specific methodologies, and what specific ways you would use to quantify your effect) to demonstrate to your reader that this experiment would, in fact, answer your research question.

First Name

Last Name

Student Number

Course Section