Cross-Cultural and Cognitive Research on Color Categorization and Naming

This symposium revisits a classic controversy in psychological anthropology: The suggested universality (or, alternatively, cultural relativity) of color categorization across individuals from the same ethnolinguistic group, and across different ethnolinguistic societies. Presentations will survey new findings and innovative multidisciplinary advances in the area. Recently the controversy’s debate has strengthened as new empirical results have emerged -some strongly in support of universalism, while other results support a culturally relative view. As a result, new perspectives on color categorization behaviors have arisen, and are beginning to clarify well-established views in the area (e.g., Berlin & Kay 1969, Kay & Regier 2003, Regier et al 2005). This progress has a strong potential for advancing psychological anthropology’s general understanding of natural-kind categorization behaviors in individuals, and our understanding of the formation of semantic categories that are shared cross-culturally. The research discussed also bears directly on classical prototype theory, computer modeling of category processing in artificial systems, and the study of cultural and psychological universals. Symposium participants include four distinguished research scientists empirically studying color categorization in the field, laboratory and using computer modeling. They represent the wide multidisciplinary expertise needed to survey the current state of color categorization phenomena found in the literature. Their specializations include: Cognitive Psychology, Cross-cultural investigations, Animal cognition (Jules Davidoff); Cross-cultural linguistics, Color naming theory and Cognition (Paul Kay); Perceptual physiology, perceptual psychology, and environment/behavior interactions (Angela Brown); Visual psychophysics, Perception, and Cross-cultural investigations (Delwin Lindsey). These researchers are leaders the field, actively publishing original research findings in top-tier scientific journals during the last decade. Their recent work reflects an exceptional level of excellence and significance for the symposium topic. By attending this symposium the audience will learn about the state-of-the-art investigations in this multidisciplinary research area.