Abstract
In this study we investigated whether synaesthesia is associated with a particular cognitive style. Cognitive style refers to preferred modes of information processing, such as a verbal style or a visual style. We reasoned that related to the enriched world of experiences created by synaesthesia, its association with enhanced verbal and visual memory, higher imagery and creativity, synaesthetes might show enhanced preference for a verbal as well as for a visual cognitive style compared to non-synaesthetes. In Study 1 we tested a large convenience sample of 1046 participants, who classified themselves as grapheme-color, sound-color, lexical-gustatory, sequence-space, or as non-synaesthetes. To assess cognitive style, we used the revised verbalizer-visualizer questionnaire (VVQ), which involves three independent cognitive style dimensions (verbal style, visual-spatial style, and vivid imagery style). The most important result was that those who reported grapheme-color synaesthesia showed higher ratings on the verbal and vivid imagery style dimensions, but not on the visual-spatial style dimension. In Study 2 we replicated this finding in a laboratory study involving 24 grapheme-color synaesthetes with objectively confirmed synaesthesia and a closely matched control group. Our results indicate that grapheme-color synaesthetes prefer both a verbal and a specific visual cognitive style. We suggest that this enhanced preference, probably together with the greater ease to switch between a verbal and a vivid visual imagery style, may be related to cognitive advantages associated with grapheme color synaesthesia such as enhanced memory performance and creativity.
Highlights
IntroductionSynaesthesia involves unusual experiences, such as color experiences in response to letters printed in black (grapheme-color synaesthesia), color experiences in response to music and sound (sound-color synaesthesia), gustatory experiences in response to words and names (lexical gustatory synaesthesia), or the activation of a spatial representation when confronted with an element that belongs to a particular sequence, for example, a day of the week (sequence-space synaesthesia)
Synaesthesia involves unusual experiences, such as color experiences in response to letters printed in black, color experiences in response to music and sound, gustatory experiences in response to words and names, or the activation of a spatial representation when confronted with an element that belongs to a particular sequence, for example, a day of the week
We suggest that this enhanced preference, probably together with the greater ease to switch between a verbal and a vivid visual imagery style, may be related to cognitive advantages associated with grapheme color synaesthesia such as enhanced memory performance and creativity
Summary
Synaesthesia involves unusual experiences, such as color experiences in response to letters printed in black (grapheme-color synaesthesia), color experiences in response to music and sound (sound-color synaesthesia), gustatory experiences in response to words and names (lexical gustatory synaesthesia), or the activation of a spatial representation when confronted with an element that belongs to a particular sequence, for example, a day of the week (sequence-space synaesthesia). Evidence from neuroscience indicates that synaesthesia is associated with structural brain differences such as increased local and global connectivity (Rouw and Scholte, 2007; Hanggi et al, 2011; Rouw et al, 2011). For grapheme-color synaesthesia, there is evidence that it is associated with basic differences in perception and excitability of the visual cortex (Barnett et al, 2008b; Terhune et al, 2011). Synaesthesia has cognitive consequences such as enhanced memory performance (Smilek et al, 2002; Rothen et al, 2012; Meier and Rothen, 2013), and greater involvement in creative activities (Rich et al, 2005; Ward et al, 2008; Rothen and Meier, 2010b). We investigate whether synaesthesia is associated with a distinct cognitive style
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