John Ridley Stroop
Template:Short description Template:Infobox person John Ridley Stroop (Template:IPAc-en; March 21, 1897 – September 1, 1973), better known as J. Ridley Stroop, was an American psychologist whose research in cognition and interference continues to be considered by some as the gold standard in attentional studies and profound enough to continue to be cited for relevance into the 21st century.<ref name="MacLeod-Bio"/><ref name="MacLeod-Gold_Std">Template:Cite journal</ref> However, Christianity was the real passion of his life; psychology was simply an occupation.<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/>
Early life
John Ridley Stroop was born in the rural community of Hall's Hill, outside Murfreesboro in Rutherford County, Tennessee.<ref name="MacLeod-Bio"/> In poor health as an infant, his family thought that he was not going to live long so he was spared part of the heaviest farm work.<ref name="MacLeod-Bio"/> Stroop was brilliant in his local county school at Kitrell, finishing the first of his class. He attended David Lipscomb High School in Nashville, graduating in 1919. Stroop then began to study at David Lipscomb College, then a two-year junior college, in Nashville, Tennessee, an institution where he would later return as a faculty member after his university doctoral work. Two years later, in 1921, he obtained his diploma from Lipscomb, graduating first in his class.<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/>
On December 23, 1921, Stroop married Zelma Dunn (1899-1988) with whom he had 3 sons. Zelma was the great-niece of Margaret Zellner, wife of David Lipscomb.<ref name="MacLeod-Bio"/>
Academic career
Stroop spent his academic career at George Peabody College in Nashville while also teaching courses at David Lipscomb College. He received his B.S. degree in 1924 and his M.S. in 1925.<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/>
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Stroop's doctoral studies at Peabody were focused on Experimental Psychology with a minor in Educational Psychology. His research at the Jesup Psychological Laboratory and his dissertation were under the direction of Joseph Peterson.<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/> Stroop's research was built on studies in the early 1880s by Cattell under the direction of Wilhelm Wundt to measure mental processes involving naming objects as well as reading object names. The elegance of Stroop's research was to apply experimental rigor and a clarity of explanation that led to identification of the tested processes with his name.<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/> Stroop developed a color-word task to demonstrate interference between reading an object's name and naming an object, and explained some of its psychological characteristics, which were later named the Stroop effect.<ref name="Classics"/><ref name="stroop"> Template:Cite journal</ref> Soon after producing his dissertation on the color-word task to obtain his Ph.D, Stroop left experimental psychology. He produced only two other papers related to the color-word task.<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/>
After obtaining his doctorate, Stroop worked briefly for the Tennessee Educational Commission and also for the Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, now Tennessee Technological University. He soon returned to David Lipscomb College, where he served as Registrar for eleven years, and then as chair of the Psychology Department from 1948 to 1964.<ref name="Classics">Template:Cite journal</ref> Stroop continued to teach psychology and Biblical studies until he retired in 1967. He served one year as dean of Ohio Valley College in Parkersburg, West Virginia before returning to Lipscomb as Emeritus Professor of Biblical Studies until his death on September 1, 1973.<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/>
Bibliography
Works he authored and edited were in the field of psychology and religion.
Psychology theses and dissertations
- A study of the inaccuracy of scoring handwriting by handwriting scales (1925)<ref name=Bibliography>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions (1935)<ref name=Bibliography/>
Psychology articles
- Is the judgment of the group better than that of the average member of the group? (1932; Journal of Experimental Psychology, 15, 550–562)<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/><ref name=Bibliography/>
- Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions (1935; Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 643–662)<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/>
- The basis of Ligon's theory (1935; American Journal of Psychology, 47, 499–504)<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/><ref name=Bibliography/>
- Factors affecting speed in serial verbal reactions (1938; Psychological Monographs, 50, 38–48)<ref name="MacLeod.uwaterloo"/>
Religion works
- Why do people not see the Bible alike? (1949)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- God's plan and me. Book 1, Jesus’ mission and method (1950)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- God's Plan and Me, How to Inherit Eternal Life (1954)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- Syllabus on later Hebrew history (1960)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- God's Plan and Me (1950–1961)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- The gospel in context (1961)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- The church of the Bible (1962)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- Syllabus on Paul's briefer epistles and the general epistles (1965)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- Restoration ideas on church organization (1966)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- Galatians : the sufficiency of the gospel without the law (1971)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- The superiority of the Gospel over the Law : (Hebrews) (1972)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- Romans : righteousness through faith (1973)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- What shall we do with the new Bible (Revised Standard Version)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- The faith that saves (1950–1970)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- Does love demand or excuse? (1950–1970)<ref name=Bibliography/>
- Syllabus on the epistles of Paul to the churches.<ref name=Bibliography/>