Abstract
Recently, Besner, Stolz, and Boutilier (1997) showed that by coloring a single letter instead of the whole word, Stroop interference is reduced or even eliminated, a result that is at odds with the widely accepted assumption that word recognition is automatic. In a replication of the Besner et al. study, we computed priming effects in addition to the standard Stroop interference. Interference results replicated those of Besner et al. Also, negative priming in the all-letter-colored condition and positive priming in the single-letter-colored condition were obtained. Priming findings demonstrate that word processing can take place in the absence of interference effects. These results support the view of automatic processing of words in the Stroop task and call for priming as a more appropriate measure of word processing than interference.
Article PDF
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Allport, D. A., Tipper, S. P., &Chmiel, N. R. J. (1985). Perceptual integration and post-categorical filtering. In M. I. Posner & O. S. M. Marin (Eds.).Attention and performance XI (pp. 107–132). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bauer, B., &Besner, D. (1997). Processing in the Stroop task: Mental set as a determinant of performance.Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology,51, 61–68.
Besner, D., &Stolz, J. A. (1999a). Context dependency in Stroop paradigm: When are words treated as nonlinguistic objects?Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology,53, 374–380.
Besner, D., &Stolz, J. A. (1999b). Unconsciously controlled processing: The Stroop effect reconsidered.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,6, 449–455.
Besner, D., Stolz, J. A., &Boutilier, C. (1997). The Stroop effect and the myth of automaticity.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,4, 221–225.
Driver, J., &Tipper, S. P. (1989). On the nonselectivity of “selective” seeing: Contrasts between interference and priming in selective attention.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,15, 304–314.
Eriksen, B. A., &Eriksen, C. W. (1974). Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task.Perception & Psychophysics,16, 143–149.
Francolini, C. M., &Egeth, H. E. (1980). On the nonautomaticity of “automatic” activation: Evidence of selective seeing.Perception & Psychophysics,27, 331–342.
Fuentes, L. J., Carmona, E., Agis, I. F., &Catena, A. (1994). The role of the anterior attention system in semantic processing of both foveal and parafoveal words.Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience,6, 17–25.
Fuentes, L. J., &Ortells, J. J. (1993). Facilitation and interference effects in a Stroop-like task: Evidence in favor of semantic processing of parafoveally-presented stimuli.Acta Psychologica,84, 213–229.
Fuentes, L. J., &Tudela, P. (1992). Semantic processing of foveally and parafoveally presented words in a lexical decision task.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,45A, 299–322.
Gatti, S. V., &Egeth, H. E. (1978). Failure of spatial selectivity in vision.Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society,11, 181–184.
Houghton, G., &Tipper, S. P. (1994). A model of inhibitory mechanisms in selective attention. In D. Dagenbach & T. H. Carr (Eds.),Inhibitory processes in attention, memory, and language (pp. 53–112). San Diego: Academic Press.
Houghton, G., Tipper, S. P., Weaver, B., &Shore, D. I. (1996). Inhibition and interference in selective attention: Some tests of a neural network model.Visual Cognition,3, 119–164.
Marcel, A. J. (1983). Conscious and unconscious perception: Experiments on visual masking and word recognition.Cognitive Psychology,15, 197–237.
Marí-Beffa, P. Estévez, A. F., &Danziger, S. (2000). Stroop interference and negative priming: Problems with inferences from null results.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,7, 499–503.
Marí-Beffa, P., Fuentes, L. J., Catena, A., &Houghton, G. (2000). Semantic priming in the prime task effect: Evidence of automatic semantic processing of distractors.Memory & Cognition,28, 635–647.
Marí-Beffa, P., Houghton, G., Estévez, A. F., &Fuentes, L. J. (2000). Word-based grouping affects the prime-task effect on semantic priming.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,26, 469–479.
Neely, J. H. (1977). Semantic priming and retrieval from lexical memory: Roles of inhibitionless spreading activation and limited-capacity attention.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,3, 226–254.
Neely, J. H. (1991). Semantic priming effects in visual word recognition: A selective review of current findings and theories. In D. Besner & G. W. Humphreys (Eds.),Basic processes in reading: Visual word recognition (pp. 264–336). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Neill, W. T., Valdes, L. A., Terry, K. M., &Gorfein, D. S. (1992). Persistence of negative priming: II. Evidence for episodic trace retrieval.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,18, 993–1000.
Posner, M. I., &Carr, T. H. (1992). Lexical access and the brain: Anatomical constraints on cognitive models of word recognition.American Journal of Psychology,105, 1–26.
Posner, M. I., &Raichle, M. E. (1994).Images of mind. New York: Scientific American Library
Posner, M. I., Sandson, J., Dhawan, M., &Shulman, G. L. (1989). Is word recognition automatic? A cognitive-anatomical approach.Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience,1, 50–60.
Posner, M. I., &Snyder, C. R. R. (1975). Attention and cognitive control. In R. L. Solso (Ed.).Information processing and cognition: The Loyola Symposium (pp. 55–85). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Price, C. J., Wise, R. J. S., &Frackowiak, R. S. J. (1996). Demonstrating the implicit processing of visually presented words and pseudowords.Cerebral Cortex,6, 62–70.
Stolz, J. A., &Besner, D. (1999). On the myth of automatic semantic activation in reading.Current Directions in Psychological Science,8, 61–65.
Tipper, S. P. (1985). The negative priming effect: Inhibitory effects of ignored primes.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,37A, 571–590.
Yee, P. L. (1991). Semantic inhibition of ignored words during a figure classification task.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,43A, 127–153.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by Grants PB94-0801 to A.C., PM97-0002 to L.J.F., and PB95-1153 to P.T., from the Dirección General de Enseñanza Superior e Investigaciones Científicas.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Catena, A., Fuentes, L.J. & Tudela, P. Priming and interference effects can be dissociated in the Stroop task: New evidence in favor of the automaticity of word recognition. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 9, 113–118 (2002). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196265
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196265