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Understanding grapheme personification: a social synaesthesia?
Maina Amin1, Olufemi Olu-Lafe, Loes E Claessen
1Department of Psychology, University College London, UK Centre for Cognition and Neuroimaging, Brunel University, London, UK.
Journal of Neuropsychology
|September 20, 2011
Summary
Synaesthesia involves more than just sensory experiences; some individuals personify letters and numbers. This study explores grapheme personification, its behavioral effects, and neural underpinnings, suggesting links to empathy and normal cognition.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Synaesthesia research traditionally emphasizes sensory cross-domain correspondences, like color associations.
- Grapheme personification, where individuals attribute personalities to letters/numbers, has been historically understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively describe the phenomenology of grapheme personification.
- To investigate the behavioral consequences and potential links to empathy.
- To explore the neural basis of grapheme personification through neuroimaging.
Main Methods:
- Detailed self-reports via questionnaire to capture phenomenology.
- Congruity paradigm (gender judgment task) to assess behavioral effects.
- Empathy Quotient (EQ) to measure empathy association.
- First neuroimaging case study of grapheme personification.
Main Results:
- Substantial individual differences in grapheme personification were observed.
- Behavioral consequences were documented, with potential associations with heightened empathy.
- Neuroimaging revealed precuneus activation, potentially implicating it in the process.
Conclusions:
- Grapheme personification frameworks can extend synaesthesia research into broader cognitive domains.
- This phenomenon shares similarities with typical cognition, possibly representing a form of "hyper-mentalizing".
- Understanding grapheme personification offers insights into social cognition and understanding others' mental states.
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