A Multivariate Study of the Serial Color-Word Test

Abstract

Patterns of adaptation to a conflict situation (the Stroop task) were assessed with the Serial Color-Word Test. A cluster analysis was performed on 859 protocols, adopting a six-cluster solution. A subsequent discriminant function analysis cross-validated the usefulness of the test's variables in predicting the cluster assignments. The distribution of 3 different diagnostic groups (psychotic, neurotic-psychosomatic, and general population) showed significant differences across the 6 clusters, thereby contributing to the external validation of the test. The 6 new complex patterns of adaptation described may now be employed in clinical research, alongside the traditional ones.