Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2025

Training Synesthetic Letter-color Associations by Reading in Color
Published on: February 20, 2014
The bidirectional mapping of colour metaphor in power: The effect of colour-semantic integration and processing depth
Ying Li1,2, Tiantian Li1, Bingjie Liu3
1School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Abstract:
Previous studies found that the abstract concept of power is embodied within space and weight, but there is not a consistent conclusion on the metaphorical relationship between power and colour. The present study adopted three experiments to investigate the metaphorical association between the concept of power and colour perception in Chinese, and how semantic processing and colour perception influence this mapping. Experiment 1 studied the effect of colour perception on the processing of power. The results showed that there was a faster response when high-power words were presented in gold and low-power words were presented in grey. Experiment 2 explored whether priming semantics of power affected colour judgement, and found no significant difference between gold and grey, neither in high-power words nor low-power words. Experiment 3 discovered that participants preferred to connect the golden pseudo words with high-power words and connect the grey pseudo words with low-power words. Overall, the present study substantiated a two-way metaphorical link between colour and power. A metaphorical association is also influenced by the degree of integration of colour into semantics and the depth of semantic processing.
Related Concept Videos
Color Vision
Gestalt Principles of Perception
Parallel Processing
Synesthesia
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
Language and Cognition

