The Stroop Task

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(QUICK EDIT. I published this before I realized I hadn't mentioned King's Cross. Possibly because it was a rather disappointing experience. Not only is there NO barrier between Platforms 9 and 10 (I knew this from when I visited in 2007, but it's still sad to see), but the whole station is under heavy construction right, so the 'Platform 9 3/4' sign they posted in the lobby area is completely obsructed.)

(Also my train left from Platform 4. Oh well.)

The Stroop Task is a famous test in cognitive psychology, requiring a person to look at a word and say the color of the ink. In the most difficult version of the task, the words are all colors and ordered in a very specific way. So for example:


• The word 'GREEN' pops up, written in red.
• As quickly as you can (the task is timed), you have to stop yourself from saying "green" and make yourself say "red."
• The word 'BLUE' pops up, written in green.
• Again as quickly as you can, you have to stop yourself from reading the word, only this time the word you have to say is the exact word you just stopped yourself from saying. So having just blocked the word "green" less than half a second ago, you now have to un-block it and block the word "blue" at the same time.



The task is generally difficult, and for most people this version is the worst*.

It is not unlike moving to another country, going home for two weeks, and coming back.

For two weeks, I got to stop inhibiting the word "dollars" in favor of pounds. I was able to look the way my safety instincts wanted to look before crossing a street. A few times, a British word or phrase slipped out (once, I got made fun of for saying "half-four" instead of "four-thirty"), but for the most part it was like un-blocking many things that I had been blocking for three months.

And then I came back. Every time I cross a street now, I feel like I'm part of a long-term Stroop Task. Not that I'm not happy to be here, it's just strange. And a bit surreal.

It doesn't help that I've come back just in time for "reading week" which everyone at University in any country knows and loves. That's taken some adjustment as well, because I'm used to reading period and finals before Christmas, not after. It's hard to get my head around the fact that we're still in Semester 1.

*Depending on maturity level, some people have more trouble with the Stroop Task when the words are dirty words.

But anyway...



Hexham is a small town just west of Newcastle, not far from Hadrian's Wall. It has all the little-British-town things: shops and a market square and terraced houses and old stone arches connecting narrow pedestrian streets. Most of the buildings are made from the same gray stone and much of town center has the air of being centuries old, which I think is the intention even if it isn't completely true.

A lovely town, but besides the Hexham Abbey and Old Gaol, there isn't a ton to do. That's why I went during reading week before finals, so I could spend a few hours exploring without feeling like I've wasted time or rushed through something.



In the park next to the abbey. And LOOK, there's FROST on the ground. Coursemates, forgive me for not taking Newcastle winters seriously. I mean, The GRASS is FROZEN! Brutal. Just brutal.

In all seriousness, I have it on good authority that this winter is not nearly as bad as the last two have been. And although they've gotten snow in VT, I think it's the same situation in New England. I just like to make fun.



The Hexham Abbey. It's actually the first intact British abbey I've ever been to. Quite a beautiful place inside, but unfortunately I was not allowed to take photographs. I didn't see much that would make it different from a cathedral, but I think there was once more to the grounds than there is today.





I love the blend of history you find, especially in places like these. Like many old, religious sites, Hexham Abbey has a map with a key showing you which structures were built in which century. Like the Tynemouth Priory, Hexham Abbey was built on the site of an even older church, so there are bits and pieces dating back through the Middle Ages. This place even has memorials and sculptures dating from Roman times, which I guess makes sense given how close it is to Hadrian's Wall.

So all in all it's good to be back. Strange, but good. Will be nice to finish with finals and start Semester 2, and even nicer to have the days get longer.

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Comments

[Mom]

The Stroop test; AKA a nightmare for those with color blindness?