Can we synesthetically name a chocolate texture?An explanation of cross-modal correspondence in language and texture

Elizabeth Gabbott

Prediction

• Aim:

To create a synaesthetic experience

• Hypothesis

When participants are asked to name the soft texture of the marshmallow they will name it the soft sounding name of Loupa, and when they are asked to name the hard texture of the mint chocolate they will name it the hard sounding name of Batik

Introduction

Video by Michael Douglas (former UCBC student)

Introduction

• 54 different types of synaesthesia

• Synaesthesia is the cause of neonatal developments which have not

been pruned.

Introduction – why I chose it

• I am a colour synaesthete

• My numbers

• My days of the week

Background

• Extension of Ramachandran and Hubbard (2001) word and object

associations

• Yorkston and Menon (2004) perceived texture and word association

Background

• Sound symbolism has recently been recognised as an important factor in how individuals derive specific meanings from an unfamiliar brand name.

• Brand names can have an impact on what a person expects the product to contain.

Recipe

• 500g of marshmallow

• 336g of Trebor™ Extra-Strong Mints™

• 4000g of Galaxy™ chocolate

• Two nonsense names were created for the

purpose of the experiment.

• 112 adult participants and 20 children were

selected

Results

Results

Discussion

• Unique extension of previous research providing evidence to suggest that synesthesia can be induced in the association between words and the texture of chocolate.

Batik Loupa

Discussion

• There are systematic ways in which sensory information is processed throughout development

• We really can synaesthetically name a chocolate texture

Thank you for listeningAny questions?

References

Ramachandran, V. S., & Hubbard, E. M. (2001). Synaesthesia--a window into perception, thought and language. Ingenta Connect, 8(12), 3-34.

Simner, J., & Ward, J. (2006). Synaesthesia: The taste of words on the tip of the tongue. Nature, 438-438. doi: 10.1038/444438a

Spector, F., & Maurer, D. (2009). Synesthesia: a new approach to understanding the development of perception. American Psychology Association, 45(1), 175-189.

Spence, C. (2012). Managing sensory expectations concerning products and brands: Capitalizing on the potential of sound and shape symbolism. Science Direct, 22(1), 37-54. doi:10.1016/j.jcps.2011.09.004

Yorkston, E., & Menon, G. (2004). A sound idea: Phonetic effects of brand names on consumer judgments. Journal Storage, 31(1), 43-51. doi: 10.1086/38342