What is the Stroop test?
The Stroop effect is one of the most famous findings in psychology. It was described by John Ridley Stroop in 1935: when a color word is printed in a different ink color (the word RED in blue ink), people are slower and make more mistakes naming the ink color than when the word and color match. Reading is so automatic that your brain has to actively hold it back to answer correctly.
How to play
- Press Start.
- A color word appears. Ignore what it says.
- Tap the button that matches the ink color.
- Score as many correct answers as you can before time runs out. Your best score is saved on your device.
What it trains
The Stroop task is used by researchers as a measure of "inhibitory control," the ability to override an automatic response, and of selective attention. Practicing it is a fun way to sharpen your focus for a few minutes. Be realistic about the benefits, though: getting better at one game mostly makes you better at that game, and research on whether brain games improve everyday thinking is mixed.
Tips for a better score
- Soften your gaze and look at the color, almost as if the letters were blurry.
- Go for accuracy first; speed comes with practice.
- Play when you are rested. Most people find they are slower and make more slips when they are tired.
Want more? The tabs above include four other games: Memory Match, Word Scramble, Quick Math and Pattern Recall.
Where the test comes from
The task is named after John Ridley Stroop, who published it in 1935. Psychologists still use versions of it to study attention and the ability to hold back an automatic response, and it appears in some clinical assessments. Our game is a casual version for fun and practice; it cannot measure or diagnose ADHD, memory problems or any other condition.