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Differences between Chinese morphosyllabic and German alphabetic readers in the Stroop interference effect

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review volume 11, pages 709–715 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The goal of our study was to localize the source of the stronger Stroop interference effect found in morphosyllabic readers as compared with alphabetic readers. Twenty-three Chinese and 24 German undergraduate students were tested in a Stroop paradigm with the following stimuli: color patches, colorneutral words (e.g.,friend printed in yellow), incongruent color-associated words (e.g.,blood printed in blue), and incongruent color words (e.g.,yellow printed in blue). Results revealed no differences in German and Chinese students’ response times to color patches. Chinese participants, however, showed longer color naming latencies for neutral words as well as for color words and color-related words. No differences between German and Chinese participants were found when print color latencies for neutral words were subtracted from print color latencies for color words and color-related words. This result does not support theories which suggest that for morphosyllabic readers there is a direct route from orthography to the semantics of a word. We rather argue, with reference to dual route models of reading, that access from print to phonology is faster for morphosyllabic than for alphabetic readers, and therefore interference caused by conflicting phonologies of color name and written word will be stronger in Chinese readers than in German readers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, D-14195, Berlin, Germany

    Henrik Saalbach & Elsbeth Stern

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  1. Henrik Saalbach
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  2. Elsbeth Stern
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Correspondence to Elsbeth Stern.

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Saalbach, H., Stern, E. Differences between Chinese morphosyllabic and German alphabetic readers in the Stroop interference effect. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 11, 709–715 (2004). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196624

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196624

Keywords

  • Color Word
  • Neutral Word
  • Stroop Effect
  • Naming Latency
  • Color Patch