NOISE, TASK DIFFICULTY, AND STROOP COLOR-WORD PERFORMANCE

64 undergraduates performed eigher a high- or low-difficulty Stroop color-word (CW) task or high- or low-difficulty color-name (CN) task in a condition of either quiet (Q) or continuous noise (N). Results supported predictions that N would facilitate performance on the CW tasks, but not performance on high-difficulty tasks generally. Pulse rate data taken immediately after Q or N indicated that N had not produced physiological arousal. Results are discussed in terms of an interaction between the inhibitory process involved in ignoring N and the inhibitory process of ignoring the conflicting cues in CW. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.