The Stroop test convinces training audiences that unconscious processes override conscious intent

Evidence

Participants invariably name the word rather than name the color of the text, and a lively discussion of why they failed to follow simple instructions despite their conscious desire to do so follows. People will quickly recognize that while stating the color of the test was not itself difficult, reading words has been so engrained that they followed their standard behavior despite the instructions. This often serves as a catalyst for participants’ willingness to think about the role that the unconscious may play in decisions and reactions related to race. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1361 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

In perception research, Wyatt and Campbell (1951; see also Bruner & Potter, 1964) demonstrated that asking subjects to generate hypotheses about the identity of a blurred picture reduced their ability to identify the picture as it was gradually brought into focus. … In research on memory, Schooler and Engstler-Schooler (1990) found that, after attempting to verbally describe the memory image of a previously seen face, subjects showed impaired ability to choose that face from an array that included several foils. … For all of these results, it is plausible that subjects’ attentional efforts disrupted the influence of weak cues—either perceptual cues or memory traces—that might otherwise have guided judgment. — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition, 229 (#complicates, via linked claim)

With the participants now often eager to understand the link between this simple exercise and race and ethnicity, trainers explain that implicit biases are not personal but are automatic associations that follow from stereotypes learned from culture, society, and one’s environment. Trainers often emphasize that the fact that biases are implicit does not mean that they dictate our actions, but to prevent them from doing so, we need to be aware that they are operating (Kirwan, 2018). The Stroop test offers an opportunity to show this—by engaging in the exercise a second time and slowing down, participants are able to complete the test successfully and experience themselves overriding their learned behavior. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1362 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The Stroop effect demonstrates how ingrained habits override conscious instructions. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 1361; Unconsciously primed concepts trigger corresponding behaviors in people; Implicit biases can be consciously overridden through deliberate attention — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 1362 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• The Stroop effect demonstrates how ingrained habits override conscious instructions. #corroborates (0.95) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1361
• Conscious attention disrupts the influence of weak automatic cues on perception and memory. #complicates (0.85) — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition, 229
• Implicit biases can be consciously overridden through deliberate attention #complicates (0.82) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1362
• Redirecting attention to a biasing cue reduces or reverses the implicit effect it produces. #complicates (0.78) — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition, 241
• Unconscious conflict detection recruits deliberate regulation before any awareness of bias #complicates (0.74) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2111