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Part of
Progress in Colour Studies: Cognition, language and beyond
Edited by Lindsay W. MacDonald, Carole P. Biggam and Galina V. Paramei
[Not in series 217] 2018
► pp. 147–162

Chapter 8
Cross-modal associations involving colour and touch

Does hue matter?

| American University of Beirut, Lebanon
| Bahçeşehir University, Turkey
Cross-modal associations involve non-arbitrary correspondences between different perceptual modalities. Investigating such associations can provide insights into the mechanisms underlying multisensory integration. This chapter provides an overview of research investigating associations between colour and touch. Studies have shown that associations exist between most tactile/haptic sensations and colour. For sensations of weight, hardness and roughness associations with colour appear driven by lightness/brightness. Saturation also appears to play a role in associations involving some haptic/tactile sensations, though results are somewhat inconsistent across studies. Whilst hue is clearly associated with temperature, its role in associations involving other haptic/tactile sensations is less established. At the end of the chapter, suggestions are made regarding future research in the domain.
Keywords: colour, cross-modal associations, multisensory integration, haptics
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Possible mechanisms accounting for cross-modal associations
  • 3.Associations between colour and temperature
  • 4.Recent studies of colour/haptic associations
    • 4.1 Alexander and Shansky (1976)
    • 4.2Ludwig and Simner (2012)
    • 4.3 Slobodenyuk, Jraissati, Kanso, Ghanem, and Elhajj (2015)
    • 4.4 Jraissati, Slobodenyuk, Kanso, Ghanem, and Elhajj (2016)
    • 4.5 Wright, Jraissati, and Özçelik (2017)
  • 5.Interim summary of main findings
  • 6.Does hue matter for cross-modal associations of colour and touch?
  • 7.Colour in cognition
  • 8.Summary
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 26 November 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/z.217.08jra
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