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Cross-species differences in color categorization

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Abstract

Berlin and Kay (1969) found systematic restrictions in the color terms of the world’s languages and were inclined to look to the primate visual system for their origin. Because the visual system does not provide adequate neurophysiological discontinuities to supply natural color category boundaries, and because recent evidence points to a linguistic origin (Davidoff, Davies, & Roberson, 1999), a new approach was used to investigate the controversial issue of the origin of color categories. Baboons and humans were given the same task of matching-to-sample colors that crossed the blue/green boundary. The data and consequent modeling were remarkably clear-cut. All human subjects matched our generalization probe stimuli as if to a sharp boundary close to the midpoint between their training items. Despite good color discrimination, none of the baboons showed any inclination to match to a single boundary but rather responded with two boundaries close to the training stimuli. The data give no support to the claim that color categories are explicitly instantiated in the primate color vision system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France

    Joël Fagot

  2. Goldsmiths College, University of London, London, England

    Julie Goldstein, Jules Davidoff & Alan Pickering

  3. CNRS, INCM, 31 chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13402, Marseille cedex 20, France

    Joël Fagot

Authors
  1. Joël Fagot
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  2. Julie Goldstein
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  3. Jules Davidoff
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  4. Alan Pickering
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joël Fagot.

Additional information

This study was supported by ESF Eurocores OMLL and CNRS OHLL Programmes, and European Community Grant SEDSU 012-984.

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Fagot, J., Goldstein, J., Davidoff, J. et al. Cross-species differences in color categorization. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 13, 275–280 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193843

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