Consistency and strength of grapheme-color associations are separable aspects of synesthetic experience

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Simon Lacey, Emory University; Margaret Martinez, Emory University; Nicole Steiner, Emory University; Lynne Nygaard, Emory University; Krishnankutty Sathian, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-04-29
• Publisher: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2021.103137
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: CONSCIOUSNESS AND COGNITION
• Volume: 91
• Start Page: 103137
• End Page: 103137
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by a National Institutes of Health grant (R01EY025978 to KS and LCN) and by the SIRE program at Emory University (Independent Research Grant to MM).
• Keywords: INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES; STANDARDIZED TEST BATTERY; Synesthesia; SYNAESTHESIA; Social Sciences; Implicit Association Test; Psychology; Grapheme; SENSITIVITY; COMMON; SPACE; Psychology, Experimental; STROOP-LIKE; Color; CONNECTIONS

Abstract

Consistency of synesthetic associations over time is a widely used test of synesthesia. Since many studies suggest that consistency is not a completely reliable feature, we compared the consistency and strength of synesthetes’ grapheme-color associations. Consistency was measured by scores on the Synesthesia Battery and by the Euclidean distance in color space for the specific graphemes tested for each participant. Strength was measured by congruency magnitudes on the Implicit Association Test. The strength of associations was substantially greater for synesthetes than non-synesthetes, suggesting that this is a novel, objective marker of synesthesia. Although, intuitively, strong associations should also be consistent, consistency and strength were uncorrelated, indicating that they are likely independent, at least for grapheme-color synesthesia. These findings have implications for our understanding of synesthesia and for estimates of its prevalence since synesthetes who experience strong, but inconsistent, associations may not be identified by tests that focus solely on consistency.