The Effect of Taurine and Caffeine in Stroop Interference

The Stroop test, created by John Ridley Stroop in 1935, is one of the most famous assessments of cognitive abilities related to inhibition and attention (Stroop, 1935). In this test, the participants must identify the color of the ink used to print words as rapidly as possible, irrespective of the content of the words. Based on the findings from previous studies, the administration of caffeine or caffeine and taurine may positively impact cognitive processes. It may improve cognitive control, reduce interference effects, and enhance task performance, such as the Stroop test. The present study investigates how caffeine and taurine affect cognitive processes, particularly selective attention. The independent variable (IV) is the consumption or non-consumption of one of the stimulants (caffeine or taurine), while the dependent variable (DV) is the time taken to complete the Stroop test. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the mean time to complete the Stroop test between the three groups (control, caffeine, and taurine). 60 participants took part in this experiment and completed the Stroop test according to a sequence allocation method, randomly assigning them to one of the three groups based on the independent variable level (IV) they were given (caffeine, taurine, or control[decaf]). This procedure ensured that the study was conducted standardized and ethically and that the data collected were valid and reliable. No statistically significant results were detected in the analysis F(2,57)=0.801, p=0.454. There was no post-hoc test, as there was no statistically significant difference. Keywords: Stroop interference, Taurine, Caffeine, Decaffeinated, Greece