As 2011 winds down it can be either exhaustion or distraction, or both, that drives one to think about odd phenomena. After a busy and banner year for our boutique Portsmouth, NH public relations firm, I’ve been thinking about the Stroop effect. Clearly more distraction than exhaustion, since no one gets so tired they fret about the dominance of words over art.
Stroop describes the tendency of our minds to give more weight (technically “directed attention”) to words than to colors. For example, when we see the word ‘blue’ written in green ink, the anterior cingulate part of our brain kicks in and we quickly read ‘blue’ without stumbling. John Ridley Stroop reported this finding as part of a Ph.D. thesis in 1935 and his search of a region that lies between the right and left halves of the frontal portion of the brain. In college it helped us laser onto the word ‘beer’ despite unappetizing color palettes and gaudily cluttered downtown storefronts. Ultimately, humans are involuntary readers, constrained by evolution to put more and faster weight on meaning than presentation.
So why worry about this stuff as 2012 approaches? It’s a combination of business and politics – perennial year-end antagonists along with the Super Bowl. It’s a business focus for us because PR is a labor of words – meaning, context, syntax, and nuance. With successful clients across New England and the U.S. engaged in “clean coal,” “socially responsible development,” and “sustainable environmental practices” – not to mention a bevy of companies boasting products as “revolutionary,” “innovative,” and “value focused” – we’re strong proponents of the power of messaging. And we’re not surprised by Stroop; just challenged on behalf of Calypso’s graphic design and interactive marketing team to keep up.
Politics is another Stroop natural, with the presidential debates an example. Do red ties, flag pins, and starched white shirts gloss over drawled nonsense, memory lapses, or swirling confusion? Not likely. We heard what we heard, didn’t hear, or wanted to hear. This makes me wonder if the Stroop effect extends to reading and listening skills, and our ability to sort words from wrapping. Do words compete with each other when they’re the same color but assault the brain with moral conflict? If so, Stroop may be what helps most of us quickly sort out the non sequitur in “President Trump” or, to be bipartisan, “President Kucinich.”
Calypso has always believed that words always win and the message is key, so the Stroop task is welcome science. As 2011 closes and business and politics both struggle to keep our attention, don’t let the visual absence of snow or the gray sky backdrops of winter dampen your spirit.
Just read, “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry,” in any color, and follow your frontal lobes to seasonal cheer.