Give yourself one minute to try to solve those in the green box (covering up the red box – this is important), then one minute with those in the red box (covering up the green box).
How many did you get in each (answers at the bottom of the page)? A 2007 study found that exposure to red was associated with significantly worse performance than exposure to green (or black and white). In fact, if you did badly overall, this may well be because the mere presence of red somewhere on the page was sufficient to impair your performance.
If you did perform worse for the red than green set, then what does this say about you? Opinions are divided but one possibility is that you have learned to associate red with poor performance because this colour is traditionally used to correct homework (does this sound like you?).
An alternative possibility is that you are particularly sensitive to red as a cue to danger (eg red skin indicates that another person is angry), and this apparent danger puts you off.
Answers agony, trump, flirt, panic, block; fault, doubt, grief, clerk, month
For a fully referenced version of this article, go to benambridge.com. Fancy some more quizzes? Order Psy-Q by Ben Ambridge (Profile Books, £8.99) or £6.99 from bookshop.theguardian.com
.jpg?w=600)
