The Stroop as a Performance Evaluation Test for Environmental Research

Summary For a study of the relationship between motion and performance, a group form of the Stroop Test was administered to 19 Navy enlisted men for 15 days. Scores were recorded for three basic conditions: black and white words (BW), color blocks (CB), and color words (CW). In addition, two difference scores were derived: BW-CB and CB-CW. These five scores were examined to determine the changes in means, variances, and reliabilities over days. The means of all scores showed learning curves which became linear or asymptotic between Days 4 and 6. Reliabilities after differential stabilization, which occurred early in practice, were high: r = .81, .88, and .85 for BW, CB, and CW, respectively. Cross-correlations after differential stabilization were, respectively, .84, .80, and .84 between BW and CB, BW and CW, and CB and CW. Together, the reliabilities and cross-correlations indicated that only one factor was being measured after differential stabilization. It was concluded that neither of the derived measures and only one of the three basic measures, preferably CW, should be included in a performance test battery.