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In:Colour Studies: A broad spectrum
Edited by Wendy Anderson, Carole P. Biggam, Carole Hough and Christian Kay
[Not in series 191] 2014
► pp. 200–211

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Category effects on colour discrimination

 | University of Sussex, UK
 | Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
Published online: 26 November 2014
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https://doi.org/10.1075/z.191.13wit
Categorical perception would provide a link between colour perception and colour language. We conducted an extensive series of studies on categorical perception of colour. We studied category effects on colour sensitivity, on the performance in a speeded discrimination task and on the subjective appearance of difference. One of the core contributions of our studies is the careful control of perceptual differences when investigating the interaction between perceptual and categorical information. In sum, only speeded discrimination with untrained participants yielded robust category effects. The comparison of the results from the different studies shows that category effects are not inherent to colour perception. Instead, we suggest that attention to the categorical distinction is at the root of the category effect.
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Wakui, Elley, Dimitris Mylonas, Serge Caparos & Jules Davidoff
2025. Categorical color perception shown in a cross‐lingual comparison of visual search. Color Research & Application 50:4 ► pp. 301 ff. DOI logo
Witzel, Christoph
2019. Misconceptions About Colour Categories. Review of Philosophy and Psychology 10:3 ► pp. 499 ff. DOI logo

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