Stroop interference with Sesame Street Characters

The Stroop task is a robust task, making it a useful assessment of automatic processing, it is also associated with reading ability. This limits the utility of the Stroop task to children with a sufficient reading level. Non-word Stroop tasks may be alternatives for non-readers or beginning readers. For example, Prevor and Diamond (2005) showed that Stroop interference could be obtained using pictures (e.g., heart, frog). This study explored using Sesame Street characters to create Stroop interference. Elmo, Kermit, and Cookie Monster were shown in red, green, and blue to first through fourth grade students. RTs for color incongruent trials were close to 100 msec slower than color congruent trials indicating Stroop interference (d = .96). Therefore, this modified version of the Stroop appears to be an acceptable picture-based measure of automatic processing in elementary age students

Differential Effects in Bimodal Directional Stroop Interference

The directional Stroop task (e.g., Cannon, 1998) creates interference between a directional word and a directional cue, such as an arrow. This study was conducted to replicate directional Stroop interference using bimodal stimulus pairs and then to determine whether or not interference occurs when the word is replaced with a sound. In Experiment 1, an arrow, pointing up or down, was paired with a directional word (UP or DOWN). Subjects were faster responding to the direction of the arrow when the pairs were congruent compared to incongruent indicating interference. In Experiment 2, the visual word was replaced with a voice. Incongruent trials produced longer RTs but there was no statistical difference between conditions. In Experiment 3, the auditory word was replaced with the sound of a slide whistle either going up or going down. Although response times were longer for incongruent pairs and the effect size was moderate, there was no significant interference between the arrow and a direction-related sound. Experiment 4 utilized the same design as Experiment 3. However, in Experiment 4 subjects responded to the direction of the sound instead of the arrow. Performance across conditions was virtually identical indicating that the visual directional cue (i.e., the arrow) had no impact on identifying the direction of the sound. Together, the results replicate previous research with a visual directional task but did not extend these findings to auditory-visual cross-modal tasks. However, the initial results from Experiments 3 and 4 suggest that auditory cues may influence visual directional cues but that visual cues do not influence auditory directional cues

Examining the Instability of the Necker Cube

Temporal processing is an important dimension influencing the rate at which bistable images change (Wemery et al., 2015; Atmanspacher and Filk, 2013). This study was conducted to determine if space is another contributing factor to the perception of bistable images. Subjects were shown three versions of the Necker cube including a cube and two prisms with the length of one side either 1.5 or 2 times the length of the cube. Results show that increasing the length of one side increases the stability of the image. A similar result was found with illusory image

Cognitive Differences from Preseason to End of Season among Youth and College Football Players

Coronado et al. (2015) estimated that 329,290 children, aged 19 years and younger, were treated for sports and recreation injuries, including concussion, in emergency rooms during 2012. Further, they found that the number of concussions within this age group doubled since 2001. Many states now have laws regarding concussion education and testing for youth to high school level sports. While diagnosed concussions are important to evaluate, contact below the level necessary for concussion seems to accumulate over the course of a season (e.g., Abbas et al., 2015). This study examined sub-concussive hits and changes in neurocognitive assessment within a single season. The ImPACT test is a commonly used baseline and post-injury neurocognitive assessment for concussion. It includes composite scores for verbal memory, visual memory, visual motor speed, reaction time, and impulse control as well as an efficiency index score that compares speed of responding and accuracy. This test was given to college and youth football players during the preseason prior to the start of practices. One week after the season ended, players who did not receive a concussion during the season were asked to complete an end-of-season test. Approximately 33 and 52 percent of the DIII college and middle school football players, respectively, completed the end-of-season test. A series of 2x2 ANOVAs were conducted to look at differences on the ImPACT composite scores from preseason to end-of-season for youth and college football players. Overall, the results suggest that there are no meaningful differences in the cognitive domains examined by the ImPACT test over the course of a football season regardless of age. However, using rs-fMRI, Slobounov et al. (2017) found significant differences in the cingulate cortex and hippocampus among FBS football players within a single season. These differences were observed in the absence of clinical symptoms or a diagnosed concussion. Therefore, it appears that behavioral symptoms and neurocognitive assessments are not sensitive enough to detect the pathophysiological changes that take place in the brain due to sub-concussive hits absorbed over the course of a football season

The Impact of Stroop Interference and the Simon Effect on Implicit Association Test Performance

The implicit association test (IAT) is a method used to examine associations individuals make between concepts and evaluations (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995). The typical finding with the IAT is that RTs are faster when the concepts and evaluations share the same response key. While the IAT has been used to examine a variety of associations, factors influencing these associations are still under consideration. For instance, Klauer et al. (2010) examined aspects of cognitive control in the IAT. They included measures related to switching mental sets, inhibition of responses, and working memory capacity. They found that switching between mental sets was related to IAT performance. In this experiment, participants completed a Simon task, Stroop task, and the flower-insect IAT. Participants showed typical Simon effect and Stroop interference. IAT results were consistent with Greenwald, McGhee, and Schwartz (1998). While covarying Simon performance had no impact on the IAT, covarying Stroop performance did reduce the size of associations found between flowers and insects across conditions. These results suggest that the ability to inhibit one response in favor of another contributes to IAT findings

Head Injuries and the Hearing Screening Inventory

Head trauma can lead to problems with the ear and auditory pathway. These problems can involve tympanic membrane perforation, fragments in squamous epithelium, damage to the ossicles, or ischemia of the cochlear nerve. It is common for behavioral checklists, for concussion or head injuries, to include an item about hearing difficulty. In the present study, 152 introductory psychology students completed a survey in which they indicated if they had ever had a concussion or sustained a head injury. Approximately one-third (35.53%) of the sample had a history of head trauma. The Hearing Screening Inventory was also part of the survey. Overall, participants who had a previous head injury reported more hearing difficulties than participants with no previous head injury (t(150) = 2.15, p \u3c .02). Although this difference had a moderate effect size (d = .37), it suggests that hearing difficulties may linger since participation was not limited to those having a recent head injury but was open to anyone who had a head injury at any point in time. An examination of specific hearing difficulties revealed that the difference between the two groups was based almost exclusively on their ability to distinguish target sounds from background noises. Specifically, the ability to understand words in music (t(150) = 2.36, p \u3c .01; d = .40) and to isolate an individual speaking from background conversations (t(150) = 2.44, p \u3c .01; d = .41) differentiated the two groups. This finding is consistent with Hoover, Souza and Gallun (2017) who also found that head injury can impair target and noise processing

Reliability and Test Differences for the Impact: Implications for Concussion Testing Programs

This study was conducted to determine the long-term relatability of ImPACT scores among young athletes. Youth sport participants (n=294) who completed ImPACT tests one year apart were included in the study. Ages ranged from nine to 14 with a mean of 11.42 (SD = .96). The majority (n = 215) were males. Test-retest reliabilities for verbal memory, visual memory, response time, and impulse control were statistically significant but weak, ranging between .33 and .49. The index score had poor test-retest reliabilities (r = .26). Visual-motor test-retest reliability was also significant but moderate (r=.68). Scores for the verbal memory subtest and the index score did not change over time. However, there was significant improvement for the visual memory (t(293) = 2.24, p \u3c .03, d = .13), visualmotor (t(293) = 9.23, p \u3c .001, d = .54), response time (t(293) = 3.78, p \u3c .001, d = .22), and impulse (t(293) = 3.27, p \u3c .001, d = .19) subtests. These results indicate that the long-term test-retest reliability of the ImPACT is inadequate and that several subtests change over time. Therefore, it is recommended that baseline ImPACT scores are obtained on an annual basis

Is Criminal Sentencing Influenced by Type of Disorder?

Differences in sentencing due to disorder and gender were examined. Four scenarios were randomly presented for each disorder type. Participants indicated the sentence length for each scenario and whether they would parole the individual. Men with personality disorders received longer sentences while women with psychotic or neurological disorders received longer sentences. Perpetrators with personality disorders were less likely to be paroled than those with a psychotic or neurological disorder. Parole decisions about psychotic women were made faster than any other condition

The Impact of Olfactory Cues on Attention: The Case of Stroop Interference

This study explores the relationship between odor imagery, color associations, and visual attention through a Stroop-task based on common odor-color associations. This Stroop-task was designed using three fruits with odor-color associations: lime with green, strawberry with red, and lemon with yellow. Each possible word-color combination was lexically presented in the experimental trials. Three experiments were conducted that used the Stroop-task with different odors present. They suggest that odor imagery can affect visual attention, the inhibition of odor-color associations, and that odor imagery appears to be facilitated in the presence of a related odor

The Impact f Olfactory Cues on Attention: The Case of Reverse Stroop Interference

Ham and Koch (2019) found that an odorant could influence interference on a modified Stroop task. This study was conducted to examine the impact of olfactory cues on reverse Stroop interference. Across three experiments, participants completed a modified reverseStroop task in which they identified a word (strawberry, lime, lemon) in different color fonts (red, green, yellow). Although the words were fruit names instead of color names, each word had some degree of association with a particular color (e.g., lime and green). In Experiment 1, congruent and incongruent trials were presented without an odorant. No differences were found between congruent and incongruent trials (t(28) = .63, p \u3e .05; d = .12). Experiment 2 consisted of the same task; however, an orange odorant was added to the room. RTs were faster for congruent trials than incongruent trials (t(17) = 4.15, p \u3c .001; d = .98). Lavender odorant was used in Experiment 3 to test whether the RT differences in Experiment 2 were influenced by the presence of a related odorant or any odorant. No differences were found between conditions (t(27) = 1.89, p \u3e .05; d = .36). The results indicate that a task-related odorant can impact word identification in a modified Stroop task