Increasing the Clinical Utility of the Stroop Color-Word Test through Process Analysis

Abstract

The Stroop Color-Word Test or SCWT (on Card A, S reads 100 color names, on Card B names 100 color patches, on Card C names 100 incongruous ink colors in which color names are printed) has been in existence for over 80 years. It is best known in modern psychology as a tool in the armamentarium of the clinical neuropsychologist. However, its usefulness has been limited in that researchers’ singular use of achievement measures (e.g., total time per card, total number of errors per card, derived scores from total time measures, namely: speed factor, total time on Card A; color-difficulty factor, total time on B/total time on A; interference factor, total time on C - total time on B) does not finely discriminate among groups exhibiting different psycho- and neuro-pathologies. We argue here that a process-oriented approach to the SCWT - focusing on an analysis of the types of errors involved in the identification of stimuli and the maintenance of serial organization, types of nonverbal behaviors/cognitive strategies to complete the task, and metacognitive estimates of performance) - will complement its traditional achievement approach and increase its discriminative ability (cf. Werner on process vs. achievement). Toward this end, we describe studies from an ongoing research program in our laboratory. In doing so, we also attempt to rectify two longstanding concerns leveled against the SCWT - the needs to standardize its materials/administration/scoring and to develop a comprehensive set of norms, in our case one unified by a classic theory of development.