An Analysis of the Nature of Grapheme – color Associations in Synaethetes and in Non-synaesthetes

Abstract

Synaesthesia is characterized by perception of features typically unrelated to stimuli. For instance, the sight of words or letters may evoke colors or flavors for a synaesthete. Grapheme - color synaesthesia is the most prevalent form of synaesthesia. The existence of similar grapheme - color associations in synaesthetes, whether due to formation or preservation of neural patterns and connections in the average human brain, hints at the existence of grapheme - color biases in non-synaesthetes. This has been confirmed in comparisons of associations within synaesthetes, biases within non-synaesthetes, and responses across both groups. The goal of the experiment outlined in the pages below is to search for these specific associations in the non-synaesthete population from three angles: by contrasting preferred color responses with guessed color responses for graphemes, by studying variability in multiple color responses submitted per grapheme, and by comparing color response frequencies over time. The path of evolution and development predisposing the brain to preserve grapheme - color associations in a small segment of the population remains unclear. A study on grapheme - color biases in non-synaesthetes may provide more information on the nature of grapheme - color associations in synaesthetes.