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Examining the Relationship Between Schizotypy and Self-Reported Visual Imagery Vividness in Grapheme-Color
Agnieszka B Janik McErlean1, Michael J Banissy2
1Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of LondonLondon, UK; Department of Psychology, James Cook UniversitySingapore, Singapore.
Frontiers in Psychology
|March 15, 2016
Summary
Synaesthesia, a condition linking stimuli to secondary experiences, is linked to higher positive schizotypy and vivid mental imagery. However, these traits are not interconnected in grapheme-color synaesthetes.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Synaesthesia involves experiencing secondary perceptions from stimuli, like colors from letters.
- Previous research suggests synaesthetes exhibit distinct personality traits, including higher positive schizotypy, openness, and lower agreeableness.
- Grapheme-color synaesthetes have also shown enhanced mental imagery compared to controls.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between grapheme-color synaesthesia, personality traits (schizotypy, agreeableness, openness), and cognitive abilities (mental imagery).
- To examine if differences in positive schizotypy and mental imagery vividness are related in synaesthetes.
- To explore associations between grapheme-color synaesthesia and conceptually related traits like self-monitoring and sensation seeking.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Assessed self-reported schizotypy and visual imagery vividness in grapheme-color synaesthetes and typical adults.
- Study 2: Evaluated self-monitoring and sensation seeking in grapheme-color synaesthetes and controls.
Main Results:
- Synaesthesia correlated with increased positive schizotypy and enhanced self-reported imagery vividness, partially replicating prior findings.
- No relationship was found between positive schizotypy and mental imagery vividness in grapheme-color synaesthetes.
- No significant differences were observed in self-monitoring or sensation seeking between synaesthetes and controls.
Conclusions:
- Grapheme-color synaesthesia is associated with specific personality and cognitive characteristics, notably positive schizotypy and vivid imagery.
- The lack of correlation between schizotypy and imagery suggests distinct underlying mechanisms.
- Further research is needed to understand the contributing factors to the synaesthete personality profile.
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