BRAIN
Stroop Test
The word says one colour. The ink is another. Pick the ink.
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About the Stroop Test
The Stroop test is a classic experiment from 1935. A colour word such as BLUE is printed in a different ink, say red. Your job is to name the ink, not read the word. Reading is so automatic that the word fights with the colour, and that small clash slows most people down.
This version gives you three practice trials and then 20 timed ones. About one in four trials is easy, with the word and ink matching, and the rest are the tricky mismatched kind. At the end you see your average time, your accuracy and your interference: how much longer the tricky trials took compared with the easy ones.
It is a fun focus challenge, not a medical or psychological test. A slower score on a tired afternoon says nothing about your health, only that you were tired.
How the test works
- Press Start. You get three practice trials that do not count, so you can learn the buttons.
- A word appears in coloured ink. Choose the colour of the ink with the four buttons, or with the keys 1 to 4 (or R, G, B, Y). Ignore what the word says.
- Then 20 timed trials follow, 5 where the word matches the ink and 15 where it does not, in random order.
- Scoring: each trial is your reaction time in milliseconds. Every wrong answer adds 500 ms to that trial. Your final score is the average of all 20 trials, so accuracy matters as much as speed. Lower is better.
- The result card also shows your accuracy, your average on easy and tricky trials, and the difference between them, which is the Stroop effect.
Levels
Your score maps to one of 8 levels. These ranges are guides, not official standards.
| Level | Name | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warming up | 2000 or less ms |
| 2 | Careful | 1500 or less ms |
| 3 | Steady | 1200 or less ms |
| 4 | Focused | 1000 or less ms |
| 5 | Sharp | 850 or less ms |
| 6 | Quick | 720 or less ms |
| 7 | Razor | 620 or less ms |
| 8 | Elite | 540 or less ms |
Tips to improve
- Look at the colour, not the letters. Soften your focus so you do not read the word.
- Learn the keys during practice. Keyboard answers are usually faster than mouse clicks.
- Do not rush into guesses. A wrong answer costs 500 ms, which is more than a careful answer takes.
- Take the test when you are rested. Fatigue and distraction slow the tricky trials the most.
- Repeat it a few times. Most people get faster over the first few runs as the buttons become automatic.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Stroop effect?
It is the slowdown that happens when two pieces of information clash. Reading a word is automatic, so a word that names a different colour interferes with naming the ink. People are usually slower and make more mistakes on those mismatched trials.
What is a good Stroop test score?
On this test, an average under 850 ms is sharp and under 700 ms is very quick, but results depend on your input device, your screen and how you press the answer. Use your own scores over several runs as your baseline.
What does interference mean in my result?
It is the difference between your average time on mismatched trials and on matching trials, using only correct answers. A smaller number means the clash bothered you less.
Is the Stroop test a medical test?
No. Versions of the Stroop task are used in research and clinics under controlled conditions. This page is a game for fun and self-comparison, and it cannot diagnose or measure any condition.
Why do wrong answers add 500 ms?
Without a penalty, you could press anything very fast and score well. The 500 ms penalty makes a mistake cost more than a careful answer, so the best strategy is to be both fast and right.
Do colours look different on my screen?
Slightly. The four colours were chosen to stay clearly different on most displays and each button also shows the colour name. If you have colour vision deficiency, the labels let you play by reading the button text.