OBJECTIVE: This study had two objectives to perform a normatization of the Stroop test in a Brazilian sample, traditionally accepted as a measure of selective attention and mental flexibility, using as a reference the Victoria test version and to analyze the performance of public and private schools students; investigating differences in regard to sex; to observe if the increase in age and years of education promote a better performance in the above mentioned task. METHODS: One hundred thirty two students of two schools (one private and the other public), in the age range from 12 to 14 years, students from 6th to 8th grades of elementary school, participated in the research, after data on school progress was compiled and the initial interview was conducted. RESULTS: The statistical analysis of the results revealed that the students of the public school had a significantly worse performance in relation to the students of the private school; as to the sex variable, the results were not significant and, as for age, the result was not consistent, revealing that that variable loses significance when analyzed in light of the six dependent measures of the experiment. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the influence of the different socio-economic, educational and cultural conditions to which the students from the two schools are exposed, as a possible explanation for the differences observed in regard to the test performance.
selective attention; mental flexibility; Stroop test; normatization
