Stimulus congruity and S-R compatibility as determinants of interference in a Stroop-like task.

Tested 20 pianists using the Stroop color–word test (J. R. Stroop, 1935) adapted to notes or the names of notes printed in congruent or incongruent positions on the staff. Ss were required to respond verbally by reading the name of the note or by manually pressing the appropriate piano keys. Eight experimental tasks were designed, forming 4 combinations of stimulus–response compatibility and congruity between relevant and irrelevant cues. Results demonstrated that these 2 factors were additive. Highest interference was found when both factors were low, and lowest interference was found when both were high. The findings were interpreted both in terms of a linear-stage model of processing and a notion of multiple processing resources.