Distraction and Stroop Color-Word performance

Effects of rumination and distraction on inhibition

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Rumination involves fixating on negative content, is associated with biases in inhibitory control, and typically worsens negative mood. In contrast, distraction attempts to engage attentional control and downregulate negative mood. To date studies have not dissociated the detrimental effects of rumination from beneficial effects of distraction on individuals' ability to inhibit irrelevant negative information. Moreover, research has not examined the possible pathways connecting rumination and distraction, negative mood and inhibitory control.

METHODS

To bridge these gaps, we report two studies that assess the effect of induced rumination versus distraction on inhibitory control among high ruminators.

RESULTS

In Study 1 distraction improved inhibition of negative content, whereas induced rumination impaired inhibition of negative content. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and demonstrated that the effect of distraction on inhibition of negative content was mediated by changes in negative mood.

LIMITATIONS

Our studies are limited by small sample sizes and lack of measurement of possible long-term effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide preliminary evidence for an effect of mood on inhibition and not vice versa, among high ruminators. We discuss theoretical and clinical implications of these findings.

Inhibition and the Facilitating Effect of Noise on Interference Tasks

3 groups of 14 college students performed the Digit Symbol Test (DST) and Embedded-figures Test (EFT) under one of 3 conditions: varied noises to be ignored, varied noises requiring attention for a spoken command, and no noise. It was hypothesized that performance on DST, but not EFT, would be enhanced in the condition of noises to be ignored. The results supported the hypothesis. A case is made for explaining the findings in terms of an interaction between inhibitory processes.

Music Preference as a Factor of Music Distraction

The present study is an experimental analysis of music preference as a factor of music distraction measured by the Stroop tests. Significant differences were found among groups given, most preferred music, least preferred music, and no music (quiet). Each group of 10 subjects were randomly chosen from 42 screened subjects. Performance was better without music and better with most preferred than with least preferred music. The results were not consistent with those previously found for the effects of noise upon Stroop test performance.

Propiedades psicométricas del Stroop, test de colores y palabras en población colombiana no patológica

El objetivo del presente artículo es revisar las propiedades psicométricas del Stroop, test de colores y palabras de Golden (2007) en población colombiana no clínica. 1332 participantes, 561 varones (42.1%) y 771 mujeres (57.9%) entre 7 y 80 años de edad, (M= 29.80 DE= 17.95). agrupados en los rangos de edad de 16 a 44 años (48.5%), 7 a 15 (28.1%), 45 a 64 (18.1%) y 65 a 80 (5.2 %). La confiabilidad fue evaluada utilizando test-retest a través del coeficiente de correlación intraclase con IC al 95% con diferencia de diez minutos entre las dos aplicaciones. La validez de constructo fue medida mediante el Análisis de componentes principales ACP. La validez convergente fue calculada a través de r de Pearson entre las subescalas de Stroop y el TMT-B. El Análisis paralelo de horn y el ACP arrojaron evidencia de tres componentes que explican el 86.84% de la varianza. Las correlaciones r de Pearson, el Stroop y TMT-B fueron significativas a 0.01 con valores de -0.41 para P; -0.35 para C; de -0.40 para PC, y de -0.14 para interferencia. La confiabilidad encontrada fue superior a 0.70 en todas las láminas del Stroop. La validez discriminante no halló diferencias entre hombres y mujeres, pero si para edad, estrato y escolaridad. Las medias y desviaciones estándar en la población colombiana fueron inferiores en todas las escalas a la versión española, lo que puede ser explicado por diferencias culturales importantes. Los resultados permiten afirmar que el Stroop es válido y confiable para diversos grupos etarios de poblaciones no patológicas en Colombia.

Selectivity, Resistance to Distraction and Shifting as Three Attentional Factors

To assess whether degree of selectivity, ability to resist distraction, and capacity for voluntary shifting are separate, identifiable attention processes, 164 eighth-grade students were given three adaptations of the Gottschaldt Embedded-figures Test. Distraction was represented by three tasks devised by Karp, called Cancellation, Arithmetic Operations, and the Distracting Contexts Test 2B. Shifting was defined by an anagrams task and one requiring the drawing of alternately placed triangles. A group version of the Stroop Color-Word Test was predicted to load both selectivity and shifting. Data were subjected to a principal components analysis, followed by an oblique rotation which permits comparison of the degree to which an obtained factor matrix approximates a hypothesized pattern matrix. Tests load as predicted. Results support the hypothesis of three separate attention factors underlying the performance of tests used.

Effects of Three Different Musical Styles of Background Music on Coding by College-Age Students

This study examined the effects of different styles of background music on task performances of college students. In addition, students' perceptions of the music and the effect these perceptions had on performance were investigated. 96 undergraduate nonmusic majors were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups: task only, task and classical background music, task and jazz background music, and task and popular background music. The performance task consisted of 220 eye/hand coordination problems, and a questionnaire was subsequently administered to the task plus background music groups to assess perception of the background environment. Analysis indicated that the experimental conditions had no significant effect on task performance.

The impact of road traffic noise on cognitive performance in attention-based tasks depends on noise level even within moderate-level ranges

Little empirical evidence is available regarding the effects of road traffic noise on cognitive performance in adults, although traffic noise can be heard at many offices and home office workplaces. Our study tested the impact of road traffic noise at different levels (50 dB(A), 60 dB(A), 70 dB(A)) on performance in three tasks that differed with respect to their dependency on attentional and storage functions, as follows: The Stroop task, in which performance relied predominantly on attentional functions (e.g., inhibition of automated responses; Experiment 1: n = 24); a non-automated multistage mental arithmetic task calling for both attentional and storage functions (Exp. 2: n = 18); and verbal serial recall, which placed a burden predominantly on storage functions (Experiment 3: n = 18). Better performance was observed during moderate road traffic noise at 50 dB(A) compared to loud traffic noise at 70 dB(A) in attention-based tasks (Experiments 1-2). This contrasted with the effects of irrelevant speech (60 dB(A)), which was included in the experiments as a well-explored and common noise source in office settings. A disturbance impact of background speech was only given in the two tasks that called for storage functions (Experiments 2-3). In addition to the performance data, subjective annoyance ratings were collected. Consistent with the level effect of road traffic noise found in the performance data, a moderate road traffic noise at 50 dB(A) was perceived as significantly less annoying than a loud road traffic noise at 70 dB(A), which was found, however, independently of the task at hand. Furthermore, the background sound condition with the highest detrimental performance effect in a task was also rated as most annoying in this task, i.e., traffic noise at 70 dB(A) in the Stroop task, and background speech in the mental arithmetic and serial recall tasks.

Low-arousal speech noise improves performance in N-back task: an ERP study

The relationship between noise and human performance is a crucial topic in ergonomic research. However, the brain dynamics of the emotional arousal effects of background noises are still unclear. The current study employed meaningless speech noises in the n-back working memory task to explore the changes of event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by the noises with low arousal level vs. high arousal level. We found that the memory performance in low arousal condition were improved compared with the silent and the high arousal conditions; participants responded more quickly and had larger P2 and P3 amplitudes in low arousal condition while the performance and ERP components showed no significant difference between high arousal and silent conditions. These findings suggested that the emotional arousal dimension of background noises had a significant influence on human working memory performance, and that this effect was independent of the acoustic characteristics of noises (e.g., intensity) and the meaning of speech materials. The current findings improve our understanding of background noise effects on human performance and lay the ground for the investigation of patients with attention deficits.

Selective attention improves under stress: implications for theories of social cognition

Three influential perspectives of social cognition entail conflicting predictions regarding the selectivity of performance under stress. According to the attention view, selectivity to the task-relevant attribute improves under stress because of reduced utilization of task-irrelevant attributes. According to the capacity-resource approach, stress depletes attentional resources wherefore selectivity fails for all but chronically accessible information. A third perspective, ironic process theory, similarly holds that selective attention fails under stress but adds that task-irrelevant information is rendered hyperaccessible. The theoretical derivations were tested in a series of experiments using 2 classes of selectivity measures, with special care taken to control for hitherto neglected factors of context The results showed that the selectivity of attention improved under stress, consistent with the prediction of the attention view.

Effects of time of day, introversion and neuroticism on selectivity in memory and attention

Two experiments examined the effects of time of day, introversion and neuroticism on selectivity in memory and attention. The first experiment showed that none of these factors interacted with task priority, which suggests that such variables do not produce the same changes in selectivity as do exogenous factors such as noise. In Exp. 2, colour names were read more quickly in the late afternoon than in the early morning, whereas patches of colour were named more quickly in the morning. Results from the Stroop interference condition showed that subjects classified as extraverts on the basis of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire scores were less susceptible to distraction than those scored as introverts, but the size of this effect was influenced both by time of day and by whether the subjects scored as stable or neurotic on the questionnaire.

A review of the effects of noise on human performance

The present review is concerned with the effects of noise, especially moderate intensity noise on performance. The review covers recent empirical results and theoretical approaches, and examines the importance of the nature of the noise, individual differences in response to noise, and other factors which modify the effects of noise. A central theme of the review is that it is essential to consider the nature of the task being performed in noise, and a profile of strategies of performance in noise is presented. Finally, recommendations are made about the direction and methodology of future research.

Performance effects of noise intensity, psychological set, and task type and complexity

Knowledge of the effect of noise on performance is limited and is generally inconclusive. Examination of previous research indicated the need for a systematic and concurrent investigation of the effects of psychological set, type of task, task complexity (single or dual task), and noise intensity. Three states of psychological set were established by telling groups of eight subjects each that noise degrades, facilitates, or has no effect on performance. A control group was told nothing about noise effects. Three intensities of broad-band white noise (55, 70, 85 dBA) were presented over loudspeakers to each subject during the completion of a four-task, adaptive-criterion battery. The only significant main effect of noise was a facilitation of tracking performance. There were several significant interactions of noise with the other independent variables.

Definition of Stroop interference in volunteers and non-volunteers

It is proposed that the best measure of individual Stroop interference is the logarithm of the ratio between time to read the interference card and time to read the pure color card, i.e., logs(C/B). A review of the literature shows a very close correlation across studies between Stroop interference so-defined and (un)willingness to participate in psychological experiments, at least for studies involving the Stroop. Logs (C/B) provides a highly reliable index of this effect and should be routinely reported as a sample descriptor. (Pertinent data must be taken from the first administration of the Stroop.) Willingness to volunteer is seen as willingness to take on additional stress; low Stroop interference is seen as high tolerance for such stress.

On the role of reduced auditory feedback and kinesic self-stimulation during Stroop Color-Word Performance

Feedback from one's own voice provides important vocal-motor cues for effective cognitive processing. Reduction of such feedback is known to disturb such functioning. Work in our laboratory has shown that kinesic self-stimulation also plays an important role in cognition, and appears to regulate the focusing of attention under conditions of distraction. The present study investigated the effects of both auditory feedback and kinesic self-stimulation in the regulation of cognitive interference during performance of the Stroop Color-Word Task. Twelve subjects were tested on the Stroop task under conditions of normal and occluded hearing. Kinesic self-stimulation and response errors during color-word performance were recorded on video tape. The findings indicated that not only did self-stimulation increase when voice feedback was reduced, but that this increase was associated with a reduction in specific types of color-word performance errors. Individual differences revealed that high kinesic responders made significantly fewer errors in task performance than did low kinesic responders. Results were interpreted as revealing a kinesic feedback mechanism which has adaptive significance in regard to self-editing when auditory feedback is reduced.

Time-varied noise effects on color-word test performance

The effects of continuous and time-varied 85 dBA broadband noise on the performance of a Stroop-type color-word test and a related word-reading task were investigated. 10 subjects served in one of three groups receiving either continuous, periodic, or aperiodic noise. All subjects performed in both low noise (65 dBA) and high noise (85 dBA) conditions on 80 trials of both word reading and color naming. Median reaction times in the word-reading task were unaffected by either noise intensity or the time-varied aspects of the noise. However, median reaction times in the color-naming task were significantly elevated in the 85-dBA noise condition. Also, reaction times in the high aperiodic noise condition were significantly elevated relative to the continuous and periodic noise conditions. Results are discussed within the framework of arousal, filter, and information theories.

Noise and attention span

The effect of emotional arousal, as induced by broad-band noise, upon breadth of attention was investigated. Four intensity levels were employed (no noise, 75 db, 85 db, and 100 db). Two of the tasks, Stroop color-word test, rod-and-frame test, required narrowed attention and the third, Tsai-Partington pathways test, required broader attention. Arousal level did not significantly affect performance on the rod-and-frame test or the pathways test, althouth in the latter a curvilinear trend was suggested. A complex relationship between arousal level and Stroop performance was obtained; performance of the 85-db group was superior to that of other groups, which did not differ significantly from one another. Results were discussed in terms of Easterbrook's (1959) arousal hypothesis.