Ink Over Word · Stroop Task

selective attention & inhibitory control

About this task

Can you say the ink, not the word?

Reading is so well practiced that it happens automatically — even when you're trying not to. This task measures what happens when that automatic process collides with a deliberate one: identifying the ink color a word is printed in, even when the word itself names a different color.

You'll complete three short blocks of 20 items each:

1 · Blocks — colored bars with no words. Your baseline speed for naming color.
2 · Matching words — color words printed in their own color.
3 · Conflicting words — color words printed in a different color. Always respond to the ink.

Respond by clicking a button or pressing R G B Y for red, green, blue, yellow. Work as quickly as you can without making mistakes. Before the conflict block you'll make a prediction about your own performance — and at the end you'll see how well you knew your own mind.

This task requires normal color vision. If colors in the red–green or blue–yellow range are hard for you to tell apart, results will reflect color discrimination rather than attention.

Note: This is an informal instructional analogue built for discussion and self-reflection. It is not the normed Stroop Color and Word Test and produces no clinical scores.

Begin practice

Practice

1 / 6

+

RedR GreenG BlueB YellowY

Next block

Start block

Metacognitive check · prediction

Before the conflict block: a prediction

In the next block the word and its ink color will disagree (the word RED printed in blue ink, and so on). Your job stays the same — respond to the ink.

Compared to the plain color blocks you just did, how much do you expect the conflicting words to slow you down per item?

Not at all — about the same speed Slightly — around 10% slower Noticeably — around 25% slower Substantially — 50% slower or more

And how many of the 20 conflict items do you expect to get right?

All 20 18–19 15–17 Fewer than 15

Lock in prediction

Metacognitive check · looking back

Now that you've done it

Before seeing any numbers: how much do you think the conflicting words actually slowed you down per item?

Not at all Around 10% slower Around 25% slower 50% slower or more

See my results

Results

Your Stroop profile

Median response time by block

Item-by-item

correcterrortimeout

How well did you know your own mind?

What this task makes visible

The gap between your block-naming speed and your conflict speed is the interference effect — the cost of inhibiting an automatic process (reading) in favor of a controlled one (color naming). Nearly everyone shows it; it's a signature of how automaticity works, not a flaw. The more interesting question is the metacognitive one: did you predict your own interference accurately? Calibration between expected and actual performance is trainable, and noticing the gap is where that training starts.

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Note: Informal instructional analogue. Not a normed instrument; produces no clinical scores.