Prevalence of learned grapheme-color pairings in a large online sample of synesthetes

In this paper we estimate the minimum prevalence of grapheme-color synesthetes with letter-color matches learned from an external stimulus, by analyzing a large sample of English-speaking grapheme-color synesthetes. We find that at least 6% (400/6588 participants) of the total sample learned many of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-03, Vol.10 (3), p.e0118996-e0118996
Main Authors: Witthoft, Nathan, Winawer, Jonathan, Eagleman, David M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Cognition & reasoning
Color
Color matching
Color Perception
Conditioning
Datasets
Diagnosis
Humans
Imagery
Learning - radiation effects
Memory
Neural networks
Neurosciences
Perceptual Disorders - physiopathology
Population
Prevalence studies (Epidemiology)
Reading
Researchers
Risk factors
Studies
Synesthesia
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Summary:In this paper we estimate the minimum prevalence of grapheme-color synesthetes with letter-color matches learned from an external stimulus, by analyzing a large sample of English-speaking grapheme-color synesthetes. We find that at least 6% (400/6588 participants) of the total sample learned many of their matches from a widely available colored letter toy. Among those born in the decade after the toy began to be manufactured, the proportion of synesthetes with learned letter-color pairings approaches 15% for some 5-year periods. Among those born 5 years or more before it was manufactured, none have colors learned from the toy. Analysis of the letter-color matching data suggests the only difference between synesthetes with matches to the toy and those without is exposure to the stimulus. These data indicate learning of letter-color pairings from external contingencies can occur in a substantial fraction of synesthetes, and are consistent with the hypothesis that grapheme-color synesthesia is a kind of conditioned mental imagery.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0118996