Stroop test online

How to play

1. A color word appears on the dark panel.
2. Tap the name of the color it is printed in.
3. Each word has a time limit.
4. A wrong tap or a miss costs a life. You have three.

What the Stroop test is

In a Stroop test you see the name of a color printed in ink of some color, and you answer with the color of the ink. When the word and the ink match, as with RED in red ink, the answer is easy. When they differ, as with RED in blue ink, reading gets in the way and the right answer, blue, takes longer. That delay is called the Stroop effect.

It is named after John Ridley Stroop, who described it in 1935. Since then the test has become a standard task in psychology, and there are many versions of it, with numbers, with emotional words, with words placed left or right. This game uses the classic version, color words and colored ink.

Here the words appear one at a time on a dark panel, in one of four inks, red, blue, yellow and white. Below are four buttons with the names of the colors written as words. You tap the one that names the ink, not the word. Color is the whole point of this game, so the buttons show text, not colored patches.

What changes from level 1 to 15

The time you have for one word gets shorter on every level. The share of words where the ink and the word do not match grows across the game, though some levels keep the same count and only cut the time. Later levels also have more words.

Level 1 has 10 words, 3 of them with mismatched ink, and 4 seconds per word. By level 5 there are 14 words, 8 of them mismatched, and 3.4 seconds. Level 10 has 18 words, 13 mismatched, and 2.9 seconds. Level 15 has 20 words, 16 of them mismatched, and 2.4 seconds per word.

The number of mismatched words on each level is fixed, not random. Every attempt at level 7 has exactly 10 of them among 16 words, only their order and colors change. So every attempt at a level has the same mix, and your results on it are fair to compare with each other.

Levels 1 to 5 are free. The full version opens levels 6 to 15. These numbers are our first guess and have not been tested on players yet, so any of them may change after the first playtests.

How the points work

A right answer gives 10 points and a speed bonus of up to 10. The time is counted from the moment the word appears. An answer in under 0.12 seconds earns the full bonus, then it drops by one point every 0.24 seconds and reaches zero at 2.28 seconds. The pause after each answer, when the game shows whether you were right, is not counted.

A wrong answer costs a life, and so does a word you let run out of time. You have three lives. If they run out, the level stops and you keep the points you have. If a life is still left after the last word, the level is cleared, even when that answer was wrong or late. If it costs your last life, the level ends and you keep your points.

The most a level can give is 20 points per word, 200 on level 1 and 400 on level 15.

What the test measures, and what this game shows

In a lab, the Stroop test compares how long people take on matched words with how long they take on mismatched ones. The difference between the two is the result. Researchers use it to study how people handle conflicting information.

This game does not calculate that difference and does not compare your score with other people or with lab results. It gives points for right and fast answers on your level. After each level the results screen shows your points, the speed bonus, the time, your mistakes and your previous best on that level. That is the number to watch, your own best.

A few tips

Look at the ink before the word has a chance to register. It can help to look slightly past the letters, at their color, rather than straight at the word.

Keep your finger in the middle of the buttons, not over the last answer. The same ink can come up twice in a row.

If you catch yourself reading, slow down for one word. A slow right answer still earns 10 points as long as it comes before the time runs out. A fast wrong one costs a life.

Questions

Is the Stroop test online free?

Levels 1 to 5 are free. The full version opens all 15 levels. It is a one-time purchase with no subscription.

Does the test have a timer?

Yes. Every word has its own time limit, from 4 seconds on level 1 to 2.4 seconds on level 15. A word that runs out of time costs a life.

Do I get results at the end?

Yes. After each level you see your points, speed bonus, time, mistakes and your previous best on that level. Results are saved between sessions.

How long does a level take?

Not long. On level 15, twenty words at up to 2.4 seconds each plus the short pause after every answer come to about a minute at most. Faster answers make it shorter.

What does the Stroop test measure?

In research it is used to measure how much a conflicting word slows down naming a color. This game does not calculate that. It shows points for right and fast answers.

Can I play if I am color blind?

It depends on which colors you confuse. The inks are red, blue, yellow and white, and the answer is the color itself, so the game cannot replace it with shapes the way our other games do.

Will it improve my focus?

We make no such claim. The points show how you did in this game, nothing more.