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The use of visual and name codes in scanning and classifying colors

Memory & Cognition volume 4, pages 384–390 (1976)Cite this article

Abstract

The effect of incongruent color words on speed of classifying ink colors was measured in visual scanning tasks and in card sorting tasks. In both cases, little or no interference effects were noted when the classification allowed focusing on a single ink color or a set of highly similar colors (adjacent hues). Substantial interference occurred when the task required grouping of three dissimilar colors (nonadjacent hues). These findings suggest that the relative efficiency of name and visual codes in making perceptual classifications is largely dependent upon the memory requirements imposed by the task.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 68588, Lincoln, Nebraska

    John H. Flowers

  2. University of Connecticut, 06268, Storrs, Connecticut

    Susan Dutch

Authors
  1. John H. Flowers
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  2. Susan Dutch
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Additional information

This research was partially supported by the University of Nebraska Research Council, which included funding from Biomedical Grant RR7055-08 from NIH to the University of Nebraska.

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Flowers, J.H., Dutch, S. The use of visual and name codes in scanning and classifying colors. Memory & Cognition 4, 384–390 (1976). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213194

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213194

Keywords

  • Color Patch
  • List Type
  • Stimulus List
  • Perceptual Decision
  • Sorting Time