Failure of subliminal word presentations to generate interference to color naming.

In a previous study, it was shown that reliable Stroop-like delays of color-naming could be generated by presenting incongruent color names in black ink just before the nonword color patches. When color names were congruent to the color patches, color-naming was faster than for a control condition. The present investigation tested for the effects of subliminally presented stimuli by attempting to replicate the earlier findings but with the interfering or facilitating words presented at subthreshold exposure durations. The negative results found with these subliminal word stimuli raise serious questions about the ability of meaningful stimuli to produce subliminal effects. The findings are discussed in relation to previous subliminal research. (Author)