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Development of color-grapheme synesthesia and its effect on mathematical operations
Carol Bergfeld Mills1, Shari R Metzger, Catherine A Foster
1Psychology Department, Goucher College, Baltimore, MD 21204, USA. cmills@goucher.edu
Perception
|June 16, 2009
Summary
Color-grapheme synesthesia affects mathematical processing. Synesthetes experienced slower addition times when digit colors mismatched their perceptions, unlike non-synesthetes.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Color-grapheme synesthesia involves experiencing colors associated with letters and numbers.
- Synesthetic experiences can be influenced by learning and language.
- Individual differences in synesthesia are significant.
Observation:
- A 19-year-old college student with color-grapheme synesthesia reported consistent photisms for digits and letters.
- Hebrew letter photisms were influenced by Roman alphabet associations.
- Auditory word perception was affected by word spelling due to synesthetic influences.
Findings:
- Synesthete's addition problem-solving times were significantly slower when digit colors mismatched her synesthetic photisms.
- This effect was not observed when colors matched or were neutral (black).
- Non-synesthetes showed no impact of digit color on their mathematical solution times.
Implications:
- Synesthesia can impact cognitive tasks such as mathematical problem-solving.
- Understanding synesthesia is crucial for educational strategies and cognitive processing research.
- The findings highlight the interplay between sensory experiences and cognitive functions.
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