Have you ever heard of the Stroop Effect? The Stroop effect is a cool science experiment named after John Ridley Stroop, an American psychologist who first described it in the 1930s. Have fun doing the Stroop Test with a friend and see if you can notice something interesting about how your brain works. Download our free printable Stroop Effect worksheets for an easy color science experiment.

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You really don’t need a ton of resources and expensive science supplies to explore STEM with kids. What is STEM? STEM refers to science, technology, engineering and math. Learn more about what is STEM.

Instead get kids interested in learning with fun, hands-on and simple science experiments like this Stroop Effect experiment. Grab the printable Stroop Effect worksheets down below and set up an easy color science experiment that is sure to get kids thinking!

What Is The Stroop Effect?

The Stroop Effect is a cool science experiment that helps us understand how our brain works. The effect is named after John Ridley Stroop, an American psychologist who first described it in the 1930’s.

In this experiment, you are given a list of colors, like “red,” “blue,” and “green.” But, the twist is that the words themselves are written in different colors! For example, the word “red” might be written in a blue font.

Your job is to say the color of the letters, not the word that’s written. This can be tricky, because your brain wants to read and give meaning to the word, even if it’s written in a different color! So, it takes longer for your brain to process the color of the letters than it does to read the word.

Why Is The Stroop Effect Important?

The Stroop Effect tells us that our brains are really good at reading words, but sometimes that can get in the way of other tasks we need to do. It has become an important basis for further psychology research into how our brains work.

The Stroop Test

There are 4 parts to the Stroop Effect Experiment. Make sure to grab the printable worksheet below to follow along.

This activity is great to do in small groups or pairs! Extend the activity by handing out stop watches so kids can record the time taken for each part of the test. Reminder to use a normal pace voice and not rush through it to keep the results consistent!

  1. You will read a list of color words out aloud. They are written in black font.
  2. Name the color of each square.
  3. Read a list of color words out aloud. This time they are in a colored font.
  4. Read the color of the font for each word.

What do you notice? Which part was hardest to do? Which part was easiest? Why do you think that is?

Get Your Free Printable Stroop Effect Project!

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More Fun Experiments With Color

When you finish this Stroop Effect test, why not explore more color science with one of these ideas below. You can find all our color science experiments here!

Make a color wheel spinner and demonstrate how you can make white light from different colors.

Explore refraction of light when you make rainbows using a variety of simple supplies.

Learn more about the color wheel with our printable color wheel worksheets.

Make a DIY spectroscope and split visible light into the colors of the spectrum.

Does color affect taste? Find out with this color taste test experiment.

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Helpful Science Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources to help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

Printable Science Projects For Kids

If you’re looking to grab all of the printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets, our Science Project Pack is what you need!

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