ne such model holds that+-he buffer holds multiple items and a parallel search is used to select the correct item. Based on this model, interference is said to occur because the presence of similar words slows the process.
The foregoing models were tested by Cowan and Barron (1987). Their findings supported the automatic processing/multiple buffer model:
. . . we raised the possibility that perceptual analysis might be blocked in situations in which subjects could attend to one modality and ignore another. If so, cross-modal Stroop effects should not be obtained. The presence of these effects indicates that irrelevant, spoken color words were processed to some degree automatically ruling out an extreme early filter model of selective attention. (p.398)
The purpose of this study is to attempt replication of Cowan and Barron's findings. In this regard, the authors themselves noted that,prior to their study, there had not been much exploration of the cross-modal Stroop task as a method of testing the various models of selection attention. Therefore, by attempting a replication of Cowan and Barron's findings, this study contributes to the literature by, if replication is forthcoming, adding a degree of support to the researchers,
Fifteen male subjects, all of whom were college students participating in research in order to earn credit for an introductory psychology course, served as subjects in the study. In a pretest run, all subjects were found to be able to distinguish among the colors used in the study.
Each trial consisted of the subject reading from a page of 100 items with four columns of words and lettering in lower case. The lettering was about .7 cm highland the page was approximately 35 cm long by 21 cm wide. Items were printed in five colors of ink: red, blue, green, black and orange. In the fir
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