Cross-species differences in color categorization

Fagot, Joël; Goldstein, Julie; Davidoff, Jules; Pickering, Alan D.

doi:10.3758/bf03193843

Cited by 28 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The baboons had already taken part in many different experiments using the matching-to-sample procedure and joystick computerized systems (e.g., Fagot, Goldstein, Davidoff & Pickering, 2006).…”

Section: Methods Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-species Assessment of the Linguistic Origins of Color Categories.

Davidoff¹,

Fagot²

2010

CCBR

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This article considers the relation between language and categorical perception (CP) of color. Two opposite theories are reviewed, the universalist position arguing that categories are universal with an essentially biological origin, and the relativist position that holds that color categories are essentially arbitrary and derive from color terms of the speaker's language. A review of the human literature presents developmental, neuropsychological, cross-cultural, neuro-imaging and computer simulation evidence that CP of colors has at least partly linguistic origins. As animal studies also contribute to this debate, we then review evidence of CP in the visual and auditory domains, and pinpoint the inconsistencies of the literature. To make a direct comparison between humans and monkeys, experimental studies compared humans and baboons for their color thresholds and in a recognition memory task designed to assess CP of colors. Only humans showed better betweencategory than within-category discrimination performance, suggesting species differences in the processing of a color continuum. That study along with some of our previous research supports the theory of a linguistic origin for color categories in humans.

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Section: Methods Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-species Assessment of the Linguistic Origins of Color Categories.

Davidoff¹,

Fagot²

2010

CCBR

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“…Also, we recognize qualities of colour, designated by the terms hue, saturation and 'brightness' (electronic supplementary material, box). It is argued that such concepts require language (and are determined by linguistic convention; Davidoff 2001;Fagot et al 2006), but one can easily imagine that similar abilities could be beneficial to species without language (Poralla & Neumeyer 2006). Unfortunately, little is known about how other species perceive supra-threshold colour differences or classify colour.…”

Section: Levels Of Colour Visionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other than in birds, and the limited evidence from fish, there is little convincing evidence for colour categorization in other species, including non-human primates (Fagot et al 2006). Application of suitable tests may well change this view.…”

Section: Levels Of Colour Visionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From spectral information to animal colour vision: experiments and concepts

2010

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Many animals use the spectral distribution of light to guide behaviour, but whether they have colour vision has been debated for over a century. Our strong subjective experience of colour and the fact that human vision is the paradigm for colour science inevitably raises the question of how we compare with other species. This article outlines four grades of 'colour vision' that can be related to the behavioural uses of spectral information, and perhaps to the underlying mechanisms. In the first, even without an (image-forming) eye, simple organisms can compare photoreceptor signals to locate a desired light environment. At the next grade, chromatic mechanisms along with spatial vision guide innate preferences for objects such as food or mates; this is sometimes described as wavelength-specific behaviour. Here, we compare the capabilities of di-and trichromatic vision, and ask why some animals have more than three spectral types of receptors. Behaviours guided by innate preferences are then distinguished from a grade that allows learning, in part because the ability to learn an arbitrary colour is evidence for a neural representation of colour. The fourth grade concerns colour appearance rather than colour difference: for instance, the distinction between hue and saturation, and colour categorization. These higher-level phenomena are essential to human colour perception but poorly known in animals, and we suggest how they can be studied. Finally, we observe that awareness of colour and colour qualia cannot be easily tested in animals.

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“…Processes postulated to underlie generalization by humans, such as identifying relational cues or rules (Ahn & Medin, 1992; Doll & Thomas, 1967; Helson, 1964; Imai & Garner, 1965; Shepard, Hovland, & Jenkins, 1961; Thomas, 1993; Thomas & Bistey, 1964; Verbeek, Spetch, Cheng, & Clifford, 2006; Wattenmaker, 1992), using abstract strategies (Gunzelmann, 2008; Rodrigues & Murre, 2007), and language (Fagot, Goldstein, Davidoff, & Pickering, 2006; Purtle, 1973; Shepard, et al, 1961), are often difficult or impossible to investigate across species. Studies of nonhuman animals instead have focused on measuring the form of generalization gradients, context effects, dimension variety, and training procedures (reviewed by Purtle, 1973; Honig & Urciouli, 1981; Ghirlanda & Enquist, 2003).…”

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confidence: 99%

Learning-related shifts in generalization gradients for complex sounds

Wisniewski

Church

Mercado

2009

Learning & Behavior

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Learning to discriminate stimuli can alter how one distinguishes related stimuli. For instance, training an individual to differentiate between two stimuli along a single dimension can alter how that individual generalizes learned responses. In this study, we examined the persistence of shifts in generalization gradients after training with sounds. University students were trained to differentiate two sounds that varied along a complex acoustic dimension. The students were subsequently tested on their ability to recognize a sound that they had experienced during training when it was presented among several novel sounds varying along this same dimension. Peak shift was observed in Experiment 1, in which generalization tests immediately followed training, and in Experiment 2, in which the tests were delayed by 24 h. These findings further support the universality of generalization processes across species, modalities, and levels of stimulus complexity. They also raise new questions about the mechanisms underlying learning-related shifts in generalization gradients. The sound stimuli from this study are available as .wav files from http://lb.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.

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Cross-species differences in color categorization

Cited by 28 publications

References 39 publications

Cross-species Assessment of the Linguistic Origins of Color Categories.

Cross-species Assessment of the Linguistic Origins of Color Categories.

From spectral information to animal colour vision: experiments and concepts

Learning-related shifts in generalization gradients for complex sounds

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