Constitutional biases in early perceptual learning: II. Visual preferences in artificially selected, visually naive and imprinted quail chicks (C. coturnix japonica).

Tested approach choices in genetically and environmentally manipulated quail chicks with pairs of stimuli identical in size and luminance but different in color, flicker, or both color and flicker. Data indicated comparable flicker and vastly different color preferences in Ss that were bidirectionally selected for color choices. In the choices between composite stimuli, flicker effects dominated over color effects in genetic controls, and color effects over flicker effects in selected Ss. Imprinting to colors modified color preferences, but imprinting to white or colored flicker did not change, or only marginally changed, flicker preferences. Flicker in testing stimuli, however, influenced the phenotypic expression of acquired color preferences. Implications concerning the nature of constitutional biases and constitution–environment interactions in early perception and perceptual learning are discussed. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Binomial assessment of behavioral-phenotypic variations: Constancy of choices, trial effects, and social interaction effects in mass-screened color preferences of quail chicks (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

In a study with 1,387 chicks of 3 genetic lines (unselected controls, a line selected for preference of blue over red, and a line selected for preference of red over blue), individual variations in repeated approach choices between colors by quail chicks were efficiently and reliably identified by methods of binary mass screening and binomial assessment. Choices between a pair of identical white stimuli showed only random variations, which indicated that position habit, systematic alternation, and extraneous stimulus factors did not influence performances. Choices between blue and red colors showed significant individual variations, which were free of influences from changes in the probabilities of choices on repeated trials, interdependence between trials, and interdependence between individual performances of mass-screened Ss. Genetic determination of individual variations were shown by strong responses to bidirectional genetic selection of choices between blue and red, which also introduced small social interaction effects on mass-screened performances. Results are discussed in relation to the use of binomial distribution for identifying phenotypic units and variations in choice behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constitutional biases in early perceptual learning: III. Similarities and differences between artificially selected and imprinted color preferences in quail chicks (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

Tested color preferences and preference generalization in naive and imprinted Japanese quail chicks drawn from the 20th generation of a genetic control line and 2 genetic lines that were bidirectionally selected for preferences between blue and red. 12 hrs of imprinting to blue or red on the 1st posthatch day resulted in large preference changes in the genetic controls, and these Ss exhibited no or only small additional changes from 3 more days of imprinting (for the total of 66 hrs of exposure time). By contrast, 12 hrs of imprinting of artificially selected Ss did not change or only marginally changed their genetically manipulated preferences, but 66 hrs of imprinting changed them by magnitudes as large as or larger than those in genetic controls. Reciprocal imprinting partially mimicked the phenotypic effects of bidirectional selection. Differences between transfer and generalization of phenotypically similar but genetically and experientially different preferences indicated dissimilar mediation of the implicit gene effects and learning effects. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early color preferences in the coturnix quail.

Color preferences within 6 paired combinations of the 4 primary colors were tested in 3,039 quail chicks by a binomial mass-screening procedure. The procedure resulted in highly reliable preference estimates for the middle range (green and yellow) over the extreme portions (blue and red) of the color spectrum and for the shortest over the longest wavelength (blue over red). Identified preferences were shown to be independent of objective or subjective intensity differences of colors and were also significantly different from each other in terms of their within-trait phenotypic variations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transitivity and the patterns of children's preferences.

Elicited preference responses to all paired comparisons of red, blue, and green Munsell paper squares from 720 children in Grades 1, 3, and 5 and from 240 adults. The pairs were presented successively in general form xy, xz, yz with color orders balanced. Measurements were made of the frequency of occurrence of the 8 possible response patterns, 2 of which were intransitive. Frequency of intransitive response patterns decreased with age, and this decline in inconsistent preferences was related to the pattern of intransitivity involved. On the basis of the patterned distribution of responses, it is suggested that various aspects of novelty exert the determining influence on the preference behavior of younger children and that this response priority diminishes only when it comes in conflict with emergent principles of logical relation. Results are related to D. E. Berlyne's analysis of the role of collative variables in aesthetic response. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color preferences in gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

Color plays an important biological role in the lives of many animals, with some species exhibiting preferences for certain colors over others. This study explored the color preferences of two species of ape, which, like humans, possess trichromatic color vision. Six western lowland gorillas, and six chimpanzees, housed in Belfast Zoological Gardens, were exposed to three stimuli (cloths, boxes, sheets of acetate) in red, blue, and green. Six stimuli of the same nature, in each of the three colors, were provided to both species for 5 days per stimulus. The amount of interest that the animals showed toward each stimulus of each color was recorded for 1 hr. Results showed that the apes, both when analyzed as two separate groups, and when assessed collectively, showed significant color preferences, paying significantly less attention to the red-, than to the blue- or green-colored stimuli. The animals' interest in the blue- and green-colored stimuli did not differ significantly. Overall, the findings suggest that gorillas and chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, may harbor color preferences comparable to those of humans and other species. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the retinal mediation of genetic influences in color preferences of Japanese quail

The hypothesis that the pigmentation of retinal oil droplets is the morphological target of genetically induced change in the early color preferences of the Japanese quail (C. coturnix japonica) was examined and rejected. Subjects were drawn from the fourth generation of genetic selection for preferences between blue and red, and they were compared according to genetic lines of origin and the presence or absence of pigmentation in their retinal oil droplets. Pigmentation was manipulated by raising parents on carotenoid-free diet. Results indicate a uniform shift toward red preference in all subjects with history of carotenoid deprivation regardless of genetic background, and no change in the magnitude of differences between genetic lines. The data suggest that retinal oil droplets mediate intensity discrimination in the photopic range rather than the perception of variations in light wavelength.     

Neon colors illuminate reading units.

The effect of syllable-size reading units on neon color was investigated in 6 experiments. The stimuli consisted of 5- or 7-letter words or pseudowords with a syllable break either just before or just after the middle (target) letter. The target letter was overlaid with a plaid of red and green lines that gave it an ambiguous neon color. The letters preceding the target were overlaid with a monochromatic grid (red or green), and the letters following the target were overlaid with the other color. Ss were significantly more likely to judge the target as more similar to the color of other letters within its syllable than colors of letters outside that unit. The effect was shown not to be an artifact of guessing strategy or eye movements. Word structure determined by orthography and morphology affected neon colors, but no effect was found for purely phonological units. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color vision and color preference in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) with colorless oil droplets.

Studied the significance of the coloration of retinal oil droplets in the color vision of 90 young quail. Colorless oil droplets were produced in Ss by dietary exclusion of carotenoids in their mothers. Carotenoid-free chicks were able to distinguish red, yellow, green, and blue of constant intensity from white light of different intensities. This indicates that the colored oil droplets are not essential in the color vision of quail. Testing color preferences by offering the 4 primary colors in 6 paired combinations indicated that normal Ss as well as Ss with colorless oil droplets preferred green the most and red the least. However, carotenoid-free Ss were different from controls in preferring blue over yellow. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affect-simulating effects of colors.

The assumption that S's response to color on the Rorschach is related to affects was tested by presenting Ss with screen projections of various colors (bright red, green, and gray geometric designs) followed by a list of words (devoid of affect-laden items) to which associations were elicited. Several indices of performance (reaction time, recall, and analysis of the content of the associations) were used to test the validity of the hypothesis. Analysis of reaction times showed the most clearcut evidence supporting the hypothesis that color (particularly red and green) would intrude on the association process more than the neutral gray, and red more so than green. The results were discussed in terms of an "intrusion" hypothesis, i.e., the colors disrupting the ongoing thought process. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2HG23D. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The colors of the alphabet: Naturally-biased associations between shape and color.

Many letters of the alphabet are consistently mapped to specific colors in English-speaking adults, both in the general population and in individuals with grapheme-color synaesthesia who perceive letters in color. Here, across six experiments, we tested the ubiquity of the color/letter associations with typically developing toddlers, literate children, and adults. We found that pre-literate children associate O with white and X with black and discovered that they also associate I and ameboid nonsense shapes with white; Z and jagged nonsense shapes with black; and C with yellow; but do not make a number of other associations (B blue; Y yellow; A red; G green) seen in literate children and adults. The toddlers' mappings were based on the shape and not the sound of the letter. The results suggest that sensory cortical organization initially binds specific colors to some specific shapes and that learning to read can induce additional associations, likely through the influence of higher order networks as letters take on meaning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encoding into working memory of spatial location, color, and shape: electrophysiological investigations

Event-related potentials (ERP) were recorded while subjects memorized either the location, the color or the shape of stimuli which could be located in 1 of 4 positions relative to a central fixation point (top, bottom, left or right), be of 1 of 4 positions relative to a central fixation point (top, bottom, left or right), be of 1 of 4 colors (white, green, red or blue), and present 1 of 4 shapes (triangle, cross, circle or square). These ERP were compared to ERP recorded while subjects looked at the same stimuli but performed other control, nonmemory tasks. Only ERP corresponding to the memorization of spatial location showed a differential pattern which could be specifically attributed to memory encoding processes. This reveals an important difference in ERP modulation between a working memory subsystem for spatial location and other subsystem (or subsystems) for color or shape, which would provide evidence supporting the existence of different working memory subsystems for visual information in the brain.     

Preferences for emotional information in older and younger adults: A meta-analysis of memory and attention tasks.

The authors conducted a meta-analysis to determine the magnitude of older and younger adults' preferences for emotional stimuli in studies of attention and memory. Analyses involved 1,085 older adults from 37 independent samples and 3,150 younger adults from 86 independent samples. Both age groups exhibited small to medium emotion salience effects (i.e., preference for emotionally valenced stimuli over neutral stimuli) as well as positivity preferences (i.e., preference for positively valenced stimuli over neutral stimuli) and negativity preferences (i.e., preference for negatively valenced stimuli to neutral stimuli). There were few age differences overall. Type of measurement appeared to influence the magnitude of effects; recognition studies indicated significant age effects, where older adults showed smaller effects for emotion salience and negativity preferences than younger adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Limitations on the parallel guidance of visual search: Color?×?Color and Orientation?×?Orientation conjunctions.

In visual search for a conjunction it is much more difficult to search for the conjunction of 2 colors or 2 orientations than for Color?×?Orientation or Color?×?Shape conjunctions. The result is not limited to particular colors or shapes. Two colors cannot occupy the same spatial location in Color?×?Color searches. However, Exps 6 and 7 show that Color?×?Shape searches remain efficient even if the color and shape are spatially separated. Our guided search model suggests that in searches for Color?×?Shape a parallel color module can guide attention toward the correct color, whereas the shape module guides attention toward the correct shape. Together these 2 sources of guidance lead attention to the target. However, if a target is red and green among red–blue and green–blue distractors, it is not possible to guide search independently toward red items and green items or away from all blue items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability of personal and social preferences in emotionally disturbed and normal children.

Preferences for friends, colors, and food were studied in institutionalized disturbed children and normal elementary school children, subgrouped at 3 age levels. Stability of preferences for friends and for food indicated at the beginning and end of a 20-min. interval revealed an orderly developmental progression within the normal group. Such consistent developmental trends were not found within the disturbed group and comparison with the normal children showed significantly higher proportions of stable friendship choices and stable food preferences in the normal group. No significant differences in stability of color preferences were found either within or between the groups. Attitudinal stability, within the limits of this exploratory investigation, tended to be specific to each of the 3 areas rather than a general personality characteristic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions.

(This reprinted article originally appeared in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1935, Vol 18, 643–662. The following abstract of the original article appeared in PA, Vol 10:1863.) In this study pairs of conflicting stimuli, both being inherent aspects of the same symbols, were presented simultaneously (a name of one color printed in the ink of another color—a word stimulus and a color stimulus). The difference in time for reading the words printed in colors and the same words printed in black is the measure of the interference of color stimuli on reading words. The difference in the time for naming the colors in which the words are printed and the same colors printed in squares is the measure of the interference of conflicting word stimuli on naming colors. The interference of conflicting color stimuli on the time for reading 100 words (each word naming a color unlike the ink-color of its print) caused an increase of 2.3 sec or 5.6% over the normal time for reading the same words printed in black. This increase is not reliable, but the interference of conflicting word stimuli on the time for naming 100 colors (each color being the print of a word which names another color) caused an increase of 47.0 sec or 74.3% of the normal time for naming colors printed in squares.… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Categorical shape and color coding by pigeons.

Two studies with 32 pigeons assessed the categorical coding of shapes and the existence of a higher-order color category (all colors). Ss were trained on 2 independent tasks (matching-to-sample and oddity-from-sample). One task involved red and a plus sign, the other a circle and green. On test trials, 1 of the 2 comparison stimuli from one task was replaced by one of the stimuli from the other task. Differential performance based on which of the 2 stimuli from the other task was introduced suggested categorical coding rules. In Exp I, evidence for the categorical coding of sample shapes was found. Categorical color coding was also found; however, it was the comparison stimuli rather than the samples that were categorically coded. Exp II replicated the categorical shape sample effect and ruled out the possibility that the particular colors used were responsible for the categorical coding of comparison stimuli. Results support the view that pigeons can develop categorical rules involving shapes and colors and that the color categories can be hierarchical. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expression of flavor preference depends on type of test and on recent drinking history.

The persistence of a conditioned flavor preference was examined in 3 experiments. All contained an initial acquisition phase in which half the rats were given almond odor mixed with sucrose (AS) in some sessions and water (W) only in other sessions, whereas the other half (controls) were given explicitly unpaired exposures to almond (A) and sucrose (S) in separate sessions. Subsequent 2-bottle choice tests revealed a persistent preference for A, despite extinction exposure to A or S, but this depended on the choice offered on test: Exposure to A did not extinguish the preference for A over W but did reduce the preference for AS over S; conversely, exposure to S did not extinguish the preference for AS over S but did reduce the preference for A over W. These results indicate that flavor preferences can be resistant to extinction procedures but suggest that the expression of such preferences in choice tests depends on an adaptation-level process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)