Color perception involves color representations firstly at a semantic level and then at a lexical level.
Studies and models have suggested that color perception first involves access to semantic representations of color. This result leads to two questions: (1) is knowledge able to influence the perception of color when associated with a color? and (2) can the perception of color really involve only semantic representations? We developed an experiment where participants have to discriminate the color of a patch (yellow vs. green). The target patch is preceded either by a black-and-white line drawing or by a word representing a natural object associated with the same or a different color (banana vs. frog). We expected a priming effect for pictures because, with a 350-ms SOA, they only involve access to semantic representations of color, whereas words seem only elicit an access to lexical representations. As expected, we found a priming effect for pictures, but also for words. Moreover, we found a general slowdown of response times in the word-prime-condition suggesting the need of an additional processing step to produce priming. In a second experiment, we manipulated the SOA in order to preclude a semantic access in the word-prime-condition that could explain the additional step of processing. We also found a priming effect, suggesting that interaction with perception occurs at a lexical level and the additional step occurs at a color perception level. In the discussion, we develop a new model of color perception assuming that color perception involves access to semantic representations and then access to lexical representations.
Laboratory EPSYLON EA4556 Dynamics of Human Abilities and Health Behaviors, Université Montpellier III, Paul Valéry, Route de Mende, 34199, Montpellier Cedex 5, France. heurleyloic@yahoo.fr
Loïc P
LP
Heurley
Thibaut
T
Brouillet
Gabrielle
G
Chesnoy
Denis
D
Brouillet
D000328:Adult; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011578:Psycholinguistics / Q000379:methods; D060865:Repetition Priming / Q000502:physiology*; D012660:Semantics; D015443:Word Processing; D055815:Young Adult