Color-word interference in a recall test.

Most studies investigating the Stroop phenomenon have used duration of performance as a measure to demonstrate the interference effects. In the present study the Stroop phenomenon was examined by means of a recall test. Sixty male and female undergraduates, randomly assigned into one of three experimental conditions, were included in the study. The three conditions consisted of lists of six colored Xs, six colored words, and six color names printed in incongruent colors. The task was to recall the items in each list. Color names were recalled better than and at the expense of printed colors. These findings support the Norman and Bobrow notion regarding the limited amount of processing resources.