Publication Cover
Journal of Sexual Aggression
An international, interdisciplinary forum for research, theory and practice
Volume 18, 2012 - Issue 3
1,147
Views
8
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Literature Review Papers

The promises and perils of the emotional Stroop task: A general review and considerations for use with forensic samples

, , &
Pages 253-268 | Received 03 Aug 2010, Accepted 01 Dec 2010, Published online: 01 Apr 2011

References

  • Abel , G. G. , Jordan , A. , Hand , C. G. , Holland , L. A. and Phipps , A. 2001 . Classification models of child molesters utilizing the Abel Assessment for sexual interest . Child Abuse and Neglect , 25 : 703 – 718 .
  • Adleman , N. E. , Menon , V. , Blasey , C. M. , White , C. D. , Warsofsky , I. S. , Glover , G. H. and Reiss , A.L. 2002 . A developmental fMRI study of the Stroop color–word task . NeuroImage , 16 : 61 – 75 .
  • Balota , D. A. , Cortese , M. J. , Sergent-Marshall , S. D. , Spieler , D. H. and Yap , M. J. 2004 . Visual word recognition of single-syllable words . Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 133 : 283 – 316 .
  • Banich , M. T. , Crowley , T. J. , Thompson , L. L. , Jacobson , B. L. , Liu , X. , Raymond , K. M. and Claus , E. D. 2007 . Brain activation during the Stroop task in adolescents with severe substance and conduct problems: A pilot study . Drug and Alcohol Dependence , 90 : 175 – 182 .
  • Botvinick , M. M. , Nystrom , L. E. , Fissell , K. , Carter , C. and Cohen , J. D. 1999 . Conflict monitoring versus selection-for-action in the anterior cingulate cortex . Nature , 402 : 179 – 181 .
  • Burt , J. S. 2002 . Why do non-color words interfere with color naming? . Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance , 28 : 1019 – 1038 .
  • Bush , G. , Luu , P. and Posner , M. I. 2000 . Cognitive and emotional influences in anterior cingulate cortex . Trends in Cognitive Sciences , 4 : 215 – 222 .
  • Buss , A. H. and Perry , M. 1992 . The Aggression Questionnaire . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 63 : 452 – 459 .
  • Carter , C. , Braver , T. S. , Barch , D. M. , Botvinick , M. M. , Noll , D. and Cohen , J. D. 1998 . Anterior cingulate cortex, error detection, and the online monitoring of performance . Science , 280 : 747 – 749 .
  • Cassiday , K. L. , McNally , R. J. and Zeitlin , S. B. 1992 . Cognitive processing of trauma cues in rape victims with post-traumatic stress . Cognitive Therapy and Research , 16 : 283 – 295 .
  • Cattell , J. M. 1886 . The time it takes to see and name objects . Mind , 11 : 63 – 65 .
  • Cohen , J. D. , Dunbar , K. and McClelland , J. L. 1990 . On the control of automatic processes: A parallel distributed processing account of the Stroop effect . Psychological Review , 97 : 332 – 361 .
  • Comalli , P. E. , Wapner , S. and Werner , H. 1962 . Interference effects of Stroop color–word test on childhood, adulthood and aging . Journal of Genetic Psychology , 100 : 47 – 53 .
  • Cox , W. M. , Fadardi , J. S. and Pathos , E. M. 2006 . The Addiction–Stroop test: Theoretical considerations and procedural recommendations . Psychological Bulletin , 132 : 443 – 476 .
  • Dalgleish , T. 1995 . Performance on the emotional Stroop task in groups of anxious, expert, and control subjects: A comparison of computer and card presentation . Cognition & Emotion , 9 : 341 – 362 .
  • Dalgleish , T. 2005 . Putting some feeling into it – the conceptual and empirical relationships between the classic and emotional Stroop tasks: A commentary on Algom, Chajut and Lev (2004) . Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 134 : 585 – 591 .
  • Dolan , M. C. and Rennie , C. E. 2007 . Is juvenile psychopathy associated with low anxiety and fear in conduct-disordered male offenders? . Journal of Anxiety Disorders , 21 : 1028 – 1038 .
  • Dubner , A. E. and Motta , R. W. 1999 . Sexually and physically abused foster care children and posttraumatic stress disorder . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 67 : 367 – 373 .
  • Dunbar , K. N. and MacLeod , C. M. 1984 . A horse race of a different color: Stroop interference patterns with transformed words . Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance , 10 : 622 – 639 .
  • Egner , T. and Hirsch , J. 2005 . The neural correlates and functional integration of cognitive control in a Stroop task . NeuroImage , 24 : 539 – 547 .
  • Flak , V. 2009 . Evaluation of sexual interest in child sex offenders using a computerised measure . Unpublished PhD thesis , University of Birmingham , Birmingham , , UK .
  • Flak , V. , Beech , A. R. and Fisher , D. 2006 . Forensic assessment of deviant sexual interests: The current position . Issues in Forensic Psychology , 6 : 70 – 83 .
  • Foa , E. B. , Feske , U. , Murdock , T. B. , Kozak , M. J. and McCarthy , P. R. 1991 . Processing of threat-related information in rape victims . Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 100 : 156 – 162 .
  • Forth , A. E. and Hare , R. D. 1989 . The contingent negative variation in psychopaths . Psychophysiology , 26 : 676 – 682 .
  • Fraisse , P. 1969 . Why is naming longer than reading? . Acta Psychologica , 30 : 96 – 103 .
  • Gawronski , B. and Bodenhousen , G. V. 2006 . Associative and propositional processes in evaluation: An integrative review of implicit and explicit attitude change . Psychological Bulletin , 132 : 692 – 731 .
  • Glaser , M. O. and Glaser , W. R. 1982 . Time course analysis of the Stroop phenomenon . Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance , 8 : 875 – 894 .
  • Gratton , G. , Coles , M. G. and Donchin , E. 1992 . Optimizing the use of information: Strategic control of activation of responses . Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 121 : 480 – 506 .
  • Gross , T. M. , Jarvik , M. E. and Rosenblatt , M. R. 1993 . Nicotine abstinence produces content-specific Stroop interference . Psychopharmacology , 110 : 333 – 336 .
  • Hafer , C. L. 2000 . Do innocent victims threaten the Belief in a Just World? Evidence from a modified Stroop task . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 79 : 165 – 173 .
  • Hanson , R. K. and Thornton , D. 2000 . Improving risk assessments for sex offenders: A comparison of three actuarial risk scales . Law and Human Behavior , 24 : 119 – 136 .
  • Hare , R. D. 1978 . “ Electrodermal and cardiovascular correlates of psychopathy ” . In Psychopathic behaviour: Approaches to research , Edited by: Hare , R. D. and Schalling , D. 107 – 143 . Chichester , , UK : Wiley .
  • Harpur , T. J. and Hare , R. D. 1990 . “ Psychopathy and attention ” . In The development of attention: Research and theory , Edited by: Enns , J. 429 – 444 . Amsterdam : North-Holland .
  • Hiatt , K. D. , Schmitt , W. A. and Newman , J. P. 2004 . Stroop tasks reveal abnormal selective attention among psychopathic offenders . Neuropsychology , 18 : 50 – 59 .
  • Hill , A. B. and Knowles , T. H. 1991 . Depression and the emotional Stroop task . Personality and Individual Differences , 12 : 481 – 485 .
  • Holle , C. , Neely , J. H. and Heimberg , R. G. 1997 . The effects of blocked versus random presentation and semantic relatedness of stimulus words in response to a modified Stroop task among social phobics . Cognitive Therapy and Research , 6 : 681 – 697 .
  • Holmes , A. J. and Pizzagalli , D. A. 2007 . Task feedback effects on conflict monitoring and executive control: Relationship to subclinical measures of depression . Emotion , 7 : 68 – 76 .
  • Houx , P. J. , Jolles , J. and Vreeling , F. W. 1993 . Stroop interference: Aging effects assessed with the Stroop color–word test . Experimental Aging Research , 19 : 209 – 224 .
  • Johnson , W. , Bouchard , T. J. , Segal , N. L. , Keyes , M. and Samuels , J. 2003 . The Stroop Color–word test: Genetic and environmental influences; Reading, mental ability and personality correlates . Journal of Educational Psychology , 95 : 58 – 65 .
  • Johnson , M. H. and Hasher , L. 1987 . Human learning and memory . Annual Review of Psychology , 38 : 631 – 668 .
  • Jorgenson , C. , Davis , J. , Opella , J. and Angerstein , G. 1981 . Hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of Stroop stimuli: An examination of age and gender differences . International Journal of Neuroscience , 13 : 113 – 116 .
  • Jorgenson , C. , Davis , J. , Opella , J. and Angerstein , G. 1980 . Hemispheric-asymmetry in the processing of Stroop-stimuli: An examination of gender, hand preference, and language differences . International Journal of Neuroscience , 11 : 165 – 169 .
  • Kerns , J. G. , Cohen , J. D. , Macdonald , A. , Cho , R. Y. , Stenger , V. A. and Carter , C. S. 2004 . Anterior cingulate conflict monitoring and adjustments in control . Science , 303 : 1023 – 1026 .
  • Kieley , J. M. and Hartley , A. A. 1997 . Age-related equivalence of identity suppression in the Stroop color-word task . Psychology and Aging , 12 : 22 – 29 .
  • Klein , G. S. 1964 . Semantic power measured through the interference of words with color naming . American Journal of Psychology , 77 : 576 – 588 .
  • Klieger , D. M. and Cordner , M. D. 1990 . The Stroop task as a measure of construct accessibility in depression . Personality and Individual Differences , 11 : 19 – 27 .
  • Kosson , D. S. 1998 . Divided visual attention in psychopathic and nonpsychopathic offenders . Personality and Individual Differences , 95 : 252 – 256 .
  • Kosson , D. S. 1996 . Psychopathy and dual-task performance under focusing conditions . Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 105 : 391 – 400 .
  • Koven , N. S. , Heller , W. , Banich , M. T. and Miller , G. A. 2003 . Relationships of distinct affective dimensions to performance on an emotional Stroop task . Cognitive Therapy and Research , 27 : 671 – 680 .
  • Kramer , D. A. and Goldman , M. S. 2003 . Using a modified Stroop task to implicitly discern the cognitive organization of alcohol expectancy . Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 112 : 171 – 175 .
  • Laberge , D. and Samuels , S. J. 1974 . Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading . Cognitive Psychology , 6 : 293 – 323 .
  • Laming , D. 1979 . Autocorrelation of choice-reaction times . Acta Psychologica , 43 : 381 – 412 .
  • Larsen , R. J. , Mercer , K. A. and Balota , D. A. 2006 . Lexical characteristics of words used in emotional Stroop experiments . Emotion , 6 : 62 – 72 .
  • Laws , D. R. and Gress , C. L. Z. 2004 . Seeing things differently: the viewing time alternative to penile plethysmography . Legal and Criminological Psychology , 9 : 183 – 196 .
  • Leung , H. , Skudlarski , P. , Gatenby , J. C. , Peterson , B. S. and Gore , J. C. 2000 . An event-related functional MRI study of the Stroop color word interference task . Cerebral Cortex , 10 : 552 – 560 .
  • Logan , G. D. 1980 . Attention and automaticity in Stroop and priming tasks: Theory and data . Cognitive Psychology , 12 : 523 – 553 .
  • Logan , A. C. and Goetsch , V. L. 1993 . Attention to external threat cues in anxiety states . Clinical Psychology Review , 13 : 541 – 559 .
  • MacLeod , C. M. 1991 . Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: An integrative review . Psychological Bulletin , 109 : 163 – 203 .
  • MacLeod , C. and Dunbar , K. 1988 . Training and Stroop-like interference: Evidence for a continuum of automaticity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning . Memory and Cognition , 14 : 126 – 135 .
  • MacLeod , C. M. and MacDonald , P. A. 2000 . Interdimensional interference in the Stroop effect: Uncovering the cognitive and neural anatomy of attention . Trends in Cognitive Sciences , 4 : 383 – 391 .
  • Mathews , A. M. , Mogg , K. , Kentish , J. and Eysenck , M. 1995 . Effect of psychological treatment on cognitive bias in generalized anxiety disorder . Behavioural Research and Therapy , 33 : 293 – 303 .
  • McKenna , F. P. and Sharma , D. 1995 . Intrusive cognitions: An investigation of the Emotional Stroop task . Journal of Experimental Psychology , 21 : 1595 – 1607 .
  • McNally , R. J. , Amir , N. , Louro , C. E. , Lukach , B. M. , Riemann , B. C. and Calamari , J. E. 1994 . Cognitive processing of idiographic emotional information in panic disorder . Behavioural Research and Therapy , 32 : 119 – 122 .
  • McNally , R. J. , Clancy , S. A. , Schacter , D. L. and Pitman , R. K. 2000 . Cognitive processing of trauma cues in adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse . Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 109 : 355 – 359 .
  • McNally , R. J. , Metzger , L. J. , Lasko , N. B. , Clancy , S. A. and Pitman , R. K. 1998 . Directed forgetting of trauma cues in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse with and without posttraumatic stress disorder . Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 107 : 596 – 601 .
  • McNally , R. J. , Riemann , B. C. and Kim , E. 1990 . Selective processing of threat cues in panic disorder . Behavioural Research and Therapy , 28 : 407 – 412 .
  • McNally , R. J. , Riemann , B. C. , Louro , C. E. , Lukach , B. M. and Kim , E. 1992 . Cognitive processing of emotional information in panic disorder . Behavioural Research and Therapy , 30 : 143 – 149 .
  • Mogg , K. , Bradley , B. P. , Williams , R. and Mathews , A. 1993 . Subliminal processing of emotional information in anxiety and depression . Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 102 : 304 – 311 .
  • Morton , J. S. and Chambers , S. M. 1973 . Selective attention to words and colours . Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology , 25 : 387 – 397 .
  • Mutter , S. A. , Naylor , J. C. and Patterson , E. R. 2005 . The effects of age and task context on Stroop task performance . Memory and Cognition , 33 : 514 – 530 .
  • Ó Ciardha , C. , & Gormley , M. 2009a . Developing clinically useful implicit tasks of sexual interest: What are they measuring? In C. Ó Ciardha (Chair) , Indirect Measures of Assessment: Clinical Applications and Theoretical Implications Symposium conducted at the 28th annual Research and Treatment Conference of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers , Dallas , TX .
  • Ó Ciardha , C. , & Gormley , M. 2009b . Comparing two implicit cognitive measures of sexual interest: A pictorial modified Stroop task and the implicit associations test . In D. Thornton & D. R. Laws , Cognitive approaches to the assessment of sexual interest in sexual offenders 177 – 201 . Chichester , , UK : Wiley .
  • Petty , R. E. and Briñol , P. 2006 . A meta-cognitive approach to “implicit” and “explicit” evaluations: Comment on Gawronski and Bodenhausen (2006) . Psychological Bulletin , 132 : 740 – 744 .
  • Petty , R. E. , Fazio , R. H. and Briñol , P. 2008 . Attitudes: Insights from the New Implicit Measures , London , , UK : Psychology Press .
  • Posner , M. I. and Snyder , C. R. R. 1975 . “ Attention and cognitive control ” . In Information-processing and cognition: The Loyola Symposium , Edited by: Solso , R. L. 55 – 85 . Hillsdale , NJ : Erlbaum .
  • Price , S. A. , Beech , A. R. , & Allen , H. A. 2010 . Stroop interference effects as measured through fMRI analysis amongst sexual abusers and controls . Poster session presented at the annual Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) conference Phoenix AZ .
  • Price , S. A. and Hanson , R. K. 2007 . A modified Stroop task with sexual offenders: Replication of a study . Journal of Sexual Aggression , 13 : 203 – 216 .
  • Rabbitt , P. M. A. 1966 . Errors and error correction in choice-response tasks . Journal of Experimental Psychology , 71 : 264 – 272 .
  • Salo , R. , Henik , A. and Robertson , L. C. 2001 . Interpreting Stroop interference: An analysis of differences between task versions . Neuropsychology , 15 : 462 – 471 .
  • Schiffrin , R. M. and Schneider , W. 1977 . Controlled and automatic human information processing II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending and general theory . Psychological Review , 84 : 127 – 190 .
  • Schiller , P. H. 1966 . Developmental study of color-word interference . Journal of Experimental Psychology , 72 : 105 – 108 .
  • Segal , Z. V. , Truchon , C. , Horowitz , L. M. , Gemar , M. and Guirguis , M. 1995 . A priming methodology for studying self-representation in major depressive disorder . Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 104 : 205 – 213 .
  • Smith , P. and Waterman , M. 2005 . Sex differences in processing aggression words using the Emotional Stroop task . Aggressive Behavior , 31 : 271 – 282 .
  • Smith , P. and Waterman , M. 2004 . Procession bias for sexual material: The emotional Stroop and sexual offenders . Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment , 16 : 163 – 171 .
  • Smith , P. and Waterman , M. 2003 . Processing bias for aggression words in forensic and nonforensic samples . Cognition and Emotion , 17 : 681 – 701 .
  • Spieler , D. H. , Balota , D. A. and Faust , M. E. 1996 . Stroop performance in healthy younger and older adults and in individuals with dementia of the Alzheimer's type . Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance , 22 : 461 – 479 .
  • Stroop , J. R. 1935 . Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions . Journal of Experimental Psychology , 18 : 643 – 662 .
  • Veen , V. V. and Carter , C. 2005 . Separating semantic conflict and response conflict in the Stroop task: A functional MRI study . NeuroImage , 27 : 497 – 504 .
  • Verhaeghen , P. and De Meersman , L. 1998 . Aging and the Stroop effect: A meta-analysis . Psychology and Aging , 13 : 120 – 126 .
  • Waters , A. J. and Feyerabend , C. 2000 . Determinants and effects of attentional bias in smokers . Psychology of Addictive Behaviors , 14 : 111 – 120 .
  • Wentura , D. , Rothermund , K. and Bak , P. 2000 . Automatic vigilance: The attention-grabbing power of approach and avoidance-related social information . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 78 : 1024 – 1037 .
  • Wertz , J. A. and Sayette , M. A. 2001 . Effects of smoking opportunity on attentional bias in smokers . Psychology of Addictive Behaviors , 15 : 268 – 271 .
  • West , R. and Bell , M. A. 1997 . Stroop color–word interference and electroencephalogram activation: Evidence for age-related decline of the anterior attentional system . Neuropsychology , 11 : 421 – 427 .
  • Whalen , P. J. , Bush , G. , McNally , R. J. , Wilhelm , S. , McInerney , S. C. , Jenike , M. A. and Rauch , S. L. 1998 . The emotional counting Stroop paradigm: A functional magnetic resonance imaging probe of the anterior cingulate affective division . Biological Psychiatry , 44 : 1219 – 1228 .
  • Williams , J. M. G. , Mathews , A. and MacLeod , C. 1996 . The emotional Stroop task and psychopathology . Psychological Bulletin , 120 : 3 – 24 .

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.