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Color Match

30s
Time
0
Score
0
Best

Color Match

Does the word match the target color?

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Colour Match shows you a colour word printed in a colour that may or may not agree with it, and asks you to respond to one while ignoring the other. The word RED printed in blue ink is the classic example.

This is a version of the Stroop task, a psychology experiment from the 1930s. Reading is so automatic in fluent readers that the written word interferes with naming the ink colour, and that interference is what the game measures.

How to play

  1. Read the prompt to see whether you are responding to the word or to the colour it is printed in.
  2. Answer as quickly as you can while staying accurate.
  3. Keep going as the pace increases and the mismatches become more frequent.

Getting better at it

  • Fix your attention on the attribute you need before the item appears, rather than reading first and correcting afterwards.
  • Slightly unfocusing your eyes makes the word harder to read automatically, which reduces the interference.
  • Accept a steady rhythm over bursts of speed. Errors cost more than the fraction of a second you save by rushing.
  • Expect to be slower on mismatched items than matched ones. That gap is the effect the task is designed to produce and it never fully disappears.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Stroop effect?
The finding that naming the ink colour of a mismatched colour word takes measurably longer than naming a matching one, because reading happens automatically and interferes with the response.
Why is this harder than it looks?
Because reading is automatic for fluent readers. Suppressing it takes deliberate effort, and that effort shows up as slower responses and more mistakes.
Does practice reduce the Stroop effect?
Practice improves your speed at the task, but the underlying interference is remarkably persistent and does not disappear entirely with training.