I. Purpose: To use a laboratory task to examine the concepts of automatic and effortful processing in attention and to consider the ramifications of such processes for everyday situations.

II. Part A: The Traditional Stroop Task

Method

Participants

Choose six people to participate in this portion of the lab. They can be friends, but do not test anyone who is currently in the class or who has taken this class before. Try to choose people of approximately the same age.
 

Materials

Make two decks of cards with 15 cards each (3X5 index cards work well). One deck (the congruent condition) should have a color name written on each card in the same color of ink as the color name (e.g., the word "blue" written in blue); you may use a color/color name more than once, but use at least 5 colors/color names. On the second deck (the incongruent condition), use the same color names, but write them in a different color of ink (e.g., the word "blue" written in red ink). You will also need a stopwatch (preferred) or a watch or clock with a second hand.

Procedure

Test six people total. For each participant, begin with the set of congruent cards using the following instructions: "In this task, I would like you to name the color of ink that each word is written in. Try to go through the deck as quickly and accurately as possible. I will be timing you. Do you have any questions? Are you ready? Begin." [It might be a good idea to have a blank card at the beginning!] After having a participant go through the first set of cards, hand him/her the set of incongruent cards and say, "Now I would like you to do the same thing with this second set of cards. Again I will be timing you. Do you have any questions? Are you ready? Begin." Afterwards, briefly explain the experiment, the results you expected to get, and why. Let your participants know that the Stroop task is not an IQ test!

Results

Record your data below:
 

Participant Initials	Time: Congruent Condition	Time: Incongruent Condition
Mean Times/Condition:

Your Lab Report: Your lab report, which is the portion you will actually turn in, will contain 4 parts for each experiment: the hypothesis, the method, the results, and the discussion (see below). Use past tense when you write about what you tested and found. You should use subheadings to organize your paper. All lab reports should be type-written, double-spaced, and spell-checked using proper grammar and sentence/paragraph structure. The lab reports for the traditional Stroop task and your modification of it (see Section IV) are the only parts you will turn in.

Note: Although it is not necessary to strictly adhere to APA style, the basic logic of APA style is encouraged. For more information, especially for how you might format your paper and the type of information to include in your Method and Results sections, please see my PSY 329 brief guide at http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dlvalenc/PSY329/guide.html.

Your lab report for will include the following sections:

Hypothesis - state your hypothesis (a prediction about how the results will turn out; e.g., I predict that people will do better in the ________ condition. This should happen because…) and include a brief, but thorough explanation about why you think the results will turn out the way you predict (approximately 1-2 paragraphs in length). Refer to specific concepts from text and lecture regarding attention in your explanation.

Method - in one to three paragraphs, briefly describe a) general participant characteristics (no names please), b) the materials used, and c) the basic procedure (what the participant went through). Use the past tense. Subheadings can be used, but are not required.

Results - in one to two paragraphs, briefly describe in full sentences what your results showed. You do not need to do any statistical tests (i.e., a t-test is not required); instead you'll want to concentrate on the pattern of results shown: Is there an overall group difference? If so, how consistent is the pattern of one condition taking longer than the other? Does everyone do better? Do most people? Or are the patterns in the means attributable to only a few people?

To do this, first calculate the means for each condition (consistent vs. inconsistent). Report the means in your paper (in complete sentences) and then comment on these general results (are the means approximately equal or is one larger than the other?) NOTE: Because you are not doing a statistical test, you should not use the term "significantly different"). Then describe the consistency of your results (i.e., how many participants showed the effect?). 

On a separate sheet of paper, make a graph/figure of your results. Graph the mean scores for each group (i.e., you'll have two bars on the same bar graph), rather than the individual scores. The graph should be computer generated or done very neatly on lined graph paper. Refer to the graph in a logical place in your written Results section. For example, write: (See Figure 1) at the end of the sentence(s) in which you reported the means for each group.

Discussion - In the first few lines of your discussion, restate your hypothesis and report whether your results supported your hypothesis. Give at least one reason as to why you think the data did or did not support your hypothesis. (NOTE: Do not use the word “prove” anywhere in your paper. Results can support or even disprove a hypothesis, but they cannot definitively prove it!)

Next, list and define in your own words and with your own examples Posner and Snyder’s (1974, 1975) three characteristics of automatic processes. Do your results from testing attention with the traditional Stroop task support these as important characteristics of automatic processes? Why or why not? Remember, in the Stroop task you need to inhibit an automatic process, thereby making it an effortful one. Add any other observations you feel are interesting.

Part B: Testing your own hypothesis

Often when students see the results of the traditional Stroop task, they have their own questions about how it works. Sometimes students are interested in whether the results would be as strong if the cards were presented upside-down, if one can get better at avoiding Stroop interference by practicing, if children or older adults show the same effects, etc. In this part, I would like you to make up and test your own hypothesis about the Stroop task or a variation of it. After doing so, do another lab report as in Section III with special attention to the additional points below. Where there is overlap in the information (e.g., if the same participants are used), do not cut and paste information from Part A into Part B!

Your Lab Report: Include the following sections in the lab report of your variation of the Stroop task (you may label this section Part B and start it directly after Part A):

Hypothesis - state your hypothesis, making sure you mention explicitly what your variation is and how it relates to attention. Include some reasoning as to why you are making your prediction. The reasoning that you use should be based on principles of attention that we have studied or are in the chapter, or are based on some other observations that are relevant. If you are testing gender, age, or cultural differences, there are chapters in the text which might give you some meaningful basis for any predictions you are making.

Method - in one to two paragraphs, briefly describe the characteristics of your participants (you may again limit yourself to six participants; if you use the same participants as in Experiment 1, you should clearly say so and indicate why it was appropriate), the materials used (if you didn't make any modifications to the materials and used the same ones as before, just say so; if you have made modifications, make it clear what those modifications were and why they were relevant for testing your hypothesis), and the basic procedure (what the participants went through - I do expect that you have made modifications here; these should be clear in your write-up). Make sure that you clearly present the task that you used. If the materials you used differ significantly from those used in Part A, it might be helpful to include some examples of your materials (e.g., presented in either the text or in a separate Table or Appendix).

Note: If the participants are the same as those used in Part A, you should understand that you will have practice effects and you are expected to address that fact, even if it was not central to your modification. Unless your own variation tests something specific about practice effects, it is preferable that you use new participants.

Results - In your write up, briefly describe what your results showed following the instructions for Part A above. Once again include the mean scores and a comment about the consistency of the pattern of your results. On a separate sheet of paper, make a graph of your results, again using means.

Discussion - List and describe two things that you learned about attention with your variation of the Stroop task. Did you find what you predicted? Why or why not? What do you think that means? Make any other observations that you feel are relevant.

DO NOT FORGET THIS LAST PART:

General Discussion - In addition to the above, answer the following questions:

1) Using two theories of attention (e.g., Broadbent's early filter theory, Treisman's attenuation theory, Kahneman's attentional resource theory, etc.), briefly describe how each might explain the typical results of the basic Stroop task. Is one better than the other in explaining such results? Why or why not? Can either theory be used to explain the results you obtained in your variation of the Stroop task? Why or why not? What other factors might need to be considered in a theory of attention that perhaps have not been considered, especially in light of the results you saw with this exercise?

2) Describe one way that you can apply the ideas learned from this lab in either your own life or in real life in general (e.g., when designing safety measures). Be specific.

3) How well did doing this lab improve your understanding of automatic processes in attention? What questions do you still have about automatic versus effortful processes specifically or attention in general?

In summary, you will be turning in a lab report with three main sections: 1) A write-up for Task A - The Original Stroop Task, 2) a write-up for Task B - My (Your) Modification of the Stroop Task, and 3) a General Discussion. Each task write-up will contain 4 parts: Hypothesis, Method (Participants, Materials, and Procedure), Results, and Discussion. Two graphs will also be included, one for each Results section showing separate bars for the mean scores (not individual scores) for each condition in each experiment.

IV. Grading and Due Date

Grades will be based on attention (!!) to the basic mechanics of writing, the clarity of presentation, synthesis with class material, and the depth and originality of thinking. See the class syllabus for more detail on grading considerations for the labs.

DUE DATE: Thursday, July 24