one explanation for the stroop effect is that
Stroop effect This theory suggests there is a lag in the brain's ability to recognize the color of the word since the brain reads words faster than it recognizes colors.[14] This is based on the idea that word processing is significantly faster than color processing. In a condition where there is a conflict regarding words and colors (e.g., Stroop test), if the task is to report the color, the word information arrives at the decision-making stage before the color information which presents processing confusion. Conversely, if the task is to report the word, because color information lags after word information, a decision can be made ahead of the conflicting information.[15]