Color congruity effect: Where do colors and numbers interact in synesthesia?

Roi Cohen Kadosh, Avishai Henik

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

The traditional size congruity paradigm is a Stroop-like situation where participants are asked to compare the values of two digits and ignore the irrelevant physical sizes of the digits (e.g., 3 5). Here a color congruity paradigm was employed and the irrelevant physical sizes were replaced by irrelevant colors. MM, a digit-color synesthete, yielded the classical congruity effect. Namely, she was slower to identify numerically larger numbers when they deviated from her synesthetic experience than when they matched it. In addition, the effect of color on her comparative judgments was modulated by numerical distance. In contrast, performance of non-synesthetes was not affected by the colors. On the basis of neurophysiological studies of magnitude comparison and interference between numerical and physical information, it is proposed that the interaction between colors and digits in MM occurs at the conceptual level. Moreover, by using the current paradigm it is possible to determine the stage at which color-digit binding in synesthesia occurs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)259-263
Number of pages5
JournalCortex
Volume42
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2006

Keywords

  • Congruity effect
  • Numerical processing
  • Synesthesia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

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