Color-Shape Associations Revealed with Implicit Association Tests

Abstract

Kandinsky proposed a correspondence theory that suggests associations between specific colors and shapes (i.e., circle-blue, square-red, triangle-yellow). Makin and Wuerger tested the theory using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and did not find clear evidence for Kandinsky’s color-shape associations among British participants. In the present study, we first replicated the previous study among Japanese participants and found similar results to those of Makin and Wuerger, showing little support for Kandinsky’s theory. In the subsequent experiment, we tested another set of color-shape associations that had been revealed by using an explicit matching method (circle-red, square-blue, triangle-yellow) in Japanese participants. The IAT tests showed that response times were significantly faster when circle-red, square-blue, and triangle-yellow combinations were mapped onto the same response key, rather than different key combinations, indicating that these color-shape combinations were encoded. These results provide the first empirical evidence that color-shape associations can be measured by indirect behavioral methods, and in particular, Japanese people’s color-shape associations (circle-red, square-blue, triangle-yellow) can be observed by both direct and indirect experimental methods.

Color-Shape Associations in Deaf and Hearing People

“…Kandinsky (1912/1994 , 1947 ), renowned abstract painter, proposed a correspondence theory between shapes and colors that state that circle, square, and triangle are associated with blue, red, and yellow, respectively. Kandinsky’s correspondence theory became influential in art and design theory ever since it was proposed, but, researchers and artists showed different patterns of color-shape associations ( Lupton and Miller, 1993 ; Jacobsen, 2002 ; Jacobsen and Wolsdorff, 2007 ; Dumitrescu, 2011 ; Kharkhurin, 2012 ; Albertazzi et al, 2013 ; Chen et al, 2015a , b ). For example, Jacobsen (2002) used a modified version of Kandinsky’s questionnaire and found that German participants tended to associate red with triangle, blue with square, and yellow with circle.…”

“…Their results showed little support for Kandinsky’s correspondence theory, except only a marginal effect for one pair of combinations (square-red and triangle-yellow associations) among the three combinations they tested (the other two combinations: circle-blue and square-red, circle-blue and triangle-yellow associations). Then, Chen et al (2015b) initially verified whether those Japanese color-shape associations (e.g., circle-red, triangle-yellow, square-blue) could be measured by the IAT. They found that RTs were significantly faster when the visual stimuli of circle-red, triangle-yellow, and square-blue combinations were mapped onto the same response key, rather than different key combinations.…”

Associations of visual forms with colors: The minor role of emotion as the mediator

“…Kandinsky's proposition was also tested by other studies using direct matching [5][6][7] and implicit tests such as a priming and color/form recognition test 8 and an implicit association test (IAT). 9 Although the triangle-yellow association was supported in the majority of the studies, the red-square and blue-circle associations were not supported in any of them.…”

If Nazi = Red, and Canadian = Red, does Red = Good or Bad? Testing the effects of valenced perceptual cues on Implicit Association Test performance

“…The RGB hex codes were #0000FF for the blue colour, and #FF0000 for the red colour. A variety of shapes were selected to avoid possible confounds a single colour-shape combination might have, as there is some evidence that certain colour-shape associations exist, and that these associations can influence speed and accuracy results on the IAT (Chen, Tanaka, & Watanabe, 2015;cf. Makin & Wuerger, 2013).…”