SoundaryEmotional Stroop Test — Free Online Attentional Bias Task
A free emotional Stroop task: 32 trials naming the ink color of emotional and neutral words measure how much emotional words capture your attention (attentional bias). About 2 minutes; you get per-condition reaction times, the bias in ms, an interpretation and change over repeated tests.
What's included
- Time
- ~2 min
- Price
- Free
FAQ
How is the emotional Stroop different from the classic Stroop?
The classic Stroop measures inhibitory control — suppressing the urge to read 'red' printed in blue. The emotional Stroop shows emotional words like 'failure' or 'lonely' and neutral words like 'desk' or 'window', and asks only for the ink color. The extra slowing on emotional words is the attentional bias: not inhibition, but how much emotion captures attention.
How do I read the bias score in ms?
Bias = mean reaction time on emotional words minus neutral words. At or below 0 ms emotional words didn't pull your attention; under 40 ms is the small bias most people show; 40–100 ms is a clear bias; above 100 ms emotional words captured attention strongly. Research reports larger biases in anxious or depressed states, but a single 32-trial run also moves with the day's condition — watch the trend over repeats rather than one absolute value.
Does a large bias mean I have depression or anxiety?
No. This is a research paradigm, and one person's bias value cannot make a diagnosis — fatigue, poor sleep or recent stress alone can enlarge it. If the bias is clear and your mood has been low or worry high lately, take the depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) self-checks suggested after the result, and talk to a mental health professional if it persists beyond two weeks.
How often should I retake it, and how do I use the trend?
About once a week at the same time of day works well. Repeating many times in a row familiarizes you with the words and can shrink the bias, so measure once per day. Logging it on the same day as the mood scales (PHQ-9, GAD-7) lets your report show whether mood scores and attentional bias move together for you.
Source
This task is based on the paradigm from: Williams, J. M. G., Mathews, A., & MacLeod, C. (1996). The emotional Stroop task and psychopathology. Psychological Bulletin, 120(1), 3–24. This task is a Soundary implementation based on a published academic paradigm. It is not any commercial test product or its test form.
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This is a self-screening tool, not a medical diagnosis. If the result concerns you, please consult a mental health professional.