title: Does the modified Stroop effect exist in PTSD? Evidence from dissertation abstracts and the peer reviewed literature.
abstract: The modified Stroop effect (MSE), in which participants show delayed colour naming to trauma-specific words, is one of the most widely cited findings in the literature pertaining to cognitive bias in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study used a novel approach (Dissertation Abstract Review; DAR) to review the presence of the MSE in dissertation abstracts. A review of dissertations that used the modified Stroop task in a PTSD sample revealed that only 8% of the studies found delayed reaction times to trauma-specific words in participants with PTSD. The most common finding (75%) was for no PTSD-specific effects in colour naming trauma-relevant words. This ratio is significantly lower than ratios found in the peer reviewed literature, but even in the peer reviewed literature only 44% of controlled studies found the modified Stroop effect. These data suggest that a reevaluation of the MSE in PTSD is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, United States. mkimble@middlebury.edu
authors.forename: Matthew O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Kimble
authors.forename: B Christopher
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Frueh
authors.forename: Libby
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marks
mesh_terms: D004212:Academic Dissertations as Topic; D006801:Humans; D010380:Peer Review; D012106:Research; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology