Journal

identify the ink colors of color words (for a review, see MacLeod, 1991). Responses are typically slower on in-congruent trials (red in blue ink) than on congruent tri-als (blue in blue ink). The difference in response latency between congruent and incongruent trials is often taken as a measure of the contribution of automatic word-reading processes to performance (Lindsay & Jacoby, 1994). When the Stroop item is congruent, the word-reading process facilitates compatible ink color responses. In contrast, for incongruent items, the word-reading process conflicts with the ink color response and slows performance. A strong automaticity hypothesis would predict that Stroop effects are entirely insensitive to context. However, several researchers have demonstrated that the proportion of congruent items in a Stroop task can modulate the siz