... the respective word was 'red'. Thus it can be argued That the word and its meaning were processed even though it was not relevant to the task. So basically, their theory was that once a task was automated it could be done with virtually no conscious effort, and this would affect all other activities. Subsequently, Sheibe, Shaver and Carrier (1967) found that if the name of the colour was written in ink corresponding to that colour (E.g. if the word 'BLUE was written as 'BLUE') then the participant would be able to identify it quicker than if the word was written in a different colour (E.g. if the word 'BLUE' was written as 'BLUE') The closer the link between the stimulus and a pre-assumption already in ones mind, the more likely for the two types of processing to mesh together. If for instance, if the word 'Banana' were written in yellow ...

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