How long does the Emotional Stroop Task take?
About 3 to 5 minutes, as listed in the test library.
Attention
Emotional Stroop Task
Also called: emotional Stroop test
Measure how emotional words slow color naming, with negative, positive and neutral words matched for length and frequency.
Useful for anxiety, depression, trauma, and emotion-attention research at the group level.
Run it with participant credits from $0.99 per participant, or any yearly plan. Preview any test free after you sign up.
Attention3-5 minTimed: desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpadPaid plans and pay as you go
attack
melody
R
G
B
Y
Name the ink color; ignore the word
What the participant sees
One trial, screen by screen, with the timings the test uses.
500 ms
A cross
Until a key press, up to 2,000 ms
A word in colored ink
- R
- Red
- G
- Green
- B
- Blue
- Y
- Yellow
The keys name the ink color, as in the Stroop task; the word's meaning is ignored.
Example stimuli
Taken from the test's own stimuli.
Negative word
Valence 1.52, arousal 5.36
Positive word
Valence 7.61, arousal 6.21
Neutral word
Valence 5.46, arousal 3.88
Session structure
Practice
12 neutral trials
Negative words
32 trials
Positive words
32 trials
Neutral words
32 trials
Scores and how they are computed
RT means response time. Mean RTs use correct responses at or after 100 ms.
- Emotional Interferencems
- Negative minus neutral mean correct RT.
- Positive values mean negative words slowed color naming
- Positive Interferencems
- Positive minus neutral mean correct RT.
- Positive values mean positive words slowed color naming
- Negative RTms
- Mean correct response time to negative words.
- Lower is faster
- Positive RTms
- Mean correct response time to positive words.
- Lower is faster
- Neutral RTms
- Mean correct response time to neutral words.
- Lower is faster
- Negative Accuracyproportion
- Share of negative words answered with the ink color.
- Higher is better
- Neutral Accuracyproportion
- Share of neutral words answered with the ink color.
- Higher is better
- Accuracyproportion
- Share of all test trials answered with the ink color.
- Higher is better
Example dataOne simulated session, scored by the code that scores your study's sessions.
- Negative words666.3 ms
- Positive words653.5 ms
- Neutral words654.1 ms
Mean correct response time (ms)
- Emotional interference
- 12.2 ms
- Positive interference
- -0.6 ms
- Accuracy
- 99%
| Negative words, mean correct response time | 666.3 ms |
|---|---|
| Positive words, mean correct response time | 653.5 ms |
| Neutral words, mean correct response time | 654.1 ms |
What this task measures
Measures how much emotional words slow color naming. Negative, positive and neutral words appear in red, green, blue or yellow ink, and participants press the key for the ink color, ignoring the word.
Core constructs
- Emotional interference
- Attentional bias
- Selective attention
Research fit
- Anxiety, depression and trauma research at the group level
- Emotion and attention experiments
- Within-study comparison of emotional and neutral word processing
Paradigm overview
The emotional Stroop task measures how much the meaning of emotional words slows color naming. After a 500 ms cross, a word appears in red, green, blue or yellow ink, and participants press R, G, B or Y for the ink color (the keys of the platform's Stroop task), ignoring the word. Each word stays until a response or 2,000 ms.
The standard 96 trials show 32 negative, 32 positive and 32 neutral words once each. The words come in sets of three of the same length and similar frequency, chosen by fixed rules from the Glasgow Norms: negative words have valence of 3 or less and positive words 7 or more, both with arousal of 5 or more, and neutral words have valence between 4.5 and 5.5 and low arousal. Within each word type every ink color appears on 8 words. Trials run in a recorded random order with no more than three words of one type in a row and never the same ink twice in a row, after 12 practice trials with neutral words and feedback. Participants are told that some words are unpleasant.
Emotional interference is the negative minus neutral mean correct response time; positive values mean negative words slowed color naming. Positive-word interference is computed the same way. Interference scores describe groups better than individuals, so they are research measures for group comparisons. The words are English, and sessions run in other languages are flagged for review.
Task design as built
The trial sequence participants see, as the test runs in ConductCognition. Settings a researcher can change are listed below.
- Trial
- A 500 ms cross, then a word in colored ink until a response or 2,000 ms.
- Keys
- R, G, B and Y for red, green, blue and yellow, as in the Stroop task.
- Items
- 96 trials: 32 negative, 32 positive and 32 neutral words, each shown once.
- Words
- Sets of three words of one length and similar frequency, chosen by valence and arousal from the Glasgow Norms.
- Colors
- Each ink color on 8 words of each type; never the same ink twice in a row.
- Practice
- 12 trials with neutral words and feedback.
Interference scores describe groups, not one person. The words are English; sessions run in other languages are flagged for review.
Data you get
Every response is saved as it happens. Download scores for all plans, and every trial on yearly plans or with participant credits.
Trial columns for this test
- phase
- practice or test. Scores use test rows.
- trial_number
- Order of the trial within its phase.
- random_seed
- Seed of the session's trial order, to rebuild it.
- word
- The word shown.
- word_type
- negative, positive or neutral.
- valence
- The word's valence in the Glasgow Norms.
- arousal
- The word's arousal in the Glasgow Norms.
- zipf
- Word frequency on the Zipf scale.
- ink_color
- The ink: red, green, blue or yellow.
- correct_response
- The right key for the trial.
- response
- The key pressed, empty when none.
- rt
- Response time in ms from the moment the screen to answer appeared.
- correct
- Whether the key pressed was the right one.
- timed_out
- No key before the time limit.
- anticipation
- A key under 100 ms, too fast to be a response.
Columns in every export
- participant_id
- Short participant code, the same in every file of the study.
- external_id
- Your own participant ID, when you add one.
- test_version
- Task version the session ran.
- scoring_version
- Scoring version the scores came from.
- customization_status
- standard, or scored_modified when the study changed a setting.
- configuration_json
- The task settings the session ran with.
- is_valid
- The session's quality status (scores file).
- quality_primary_reason
- The main reason when a session needs review or is invalid (scores file).
- started_at
- When the session started (scores file).
- completed_at
- When the session ended (scores file).
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
Scored rows: emotional_stroop_test from the scored run, R, G, B or Y for the ink color (chance 25%, each color on a quarter of the words of each type) within 2,000 ms, correctness from the color's key. Below chance invalidates and not above chance is flagged. One key on 90% of answers invalidates when accuracy is not above chance. Missed responses and responses under 100 ms follow the timed-test rule. A session run in a language other than English is flagged for review.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
This test runs with fixed settings.
Need a different version of this test?
Devices and languages
- Timed test: participants need a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad. Participant devices
- Task text: English and Italian.
- Available on: Paid plans and pay as you go.
- No percentile. Scores and quality flags only. How norms work
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Methods text, with the standard settings
Participants completed the Emotional Stroop Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Williams, Mathews & MacLeod, 1996). Emotional interference was computed as the negative minus neutral mean correct response time. Mean response times used correct responses at or after 100 ms.
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Williams, J. M. G., Mathews, A., & MacLeod, C. (1996). The emotional Stroop task and psychopathology. Psychological Bulletin, 120(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.120.1.3
Source papers
Williams JMG, Mathews A, MacLeod C (1996). The emotional Stroop task and psychopathology. Psychological Bulletin, 120(1):3-24.
Paradigm sourceAdults
Research FAQ
Common questions about this online cognitive test
What device does a participant need?
Timed test: participants need a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Emotional Interference, Positive Interference, Negative RT, Positive RT, Neutral RT, Negative Accuracy, Neutral Accuracy and Accuracy. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How is emotional interference computed?
Negative minus neutral mean correct RT.
How is positive interference computed?
Positive minus neutral mean correct RT.
Does it report a percentile?
No. Scores and quality flags only.
Which languages can participants use?
The test's own text is in English and Italian. Italian participant pages come with yearly plans.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
Every test: the full test list.
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