Gender Differences in Color and Color Word Processing: Evidence from Mixed-effects Modeling

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2024.05.015

Abstract

Abstract:

The cognitive processing of color and color words is highly complex and involves many influencing variables. Gender, as an important biological and cultural factor, profoundly impacts the cognitive processing of color and color words; however, the specific mechanisms of this influence remain inconclusive. This study examined the processing of the same color and color word among participants of different genders within the same cultural context, and modelling the experimental data with linear mixed-effect models. The results indicated that females significantly outperformed males in the processing speed of colors and color words, suggesting that gender impacts the fundamental processing mechanisms underlying color and color word cognition. Moreover, the results showed that processing speed is just one dimension of color and color word processing; in terms of processing quality, females demonstrated a significant advantage in the color judgment tasks, while males showed notable superiority in the color discrimination tasks.

Key words: color, color words, gender differences, perceptual symbol system theory, linear mixed-effect model

CLC Number:

FAN Lin, ZHENG Shiyang. Gender Differences in Color and Color Word Processing: Evidence from Mixed-effects Modeling[J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2024, 24(5): 163-178.

Figures/Tables 7

References 59

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口红色号	颜色名称	RGB
MAC 316	番茄色	168,61,67
MAC Brick-O-La	豆沙色	186,86,98
MAC dubonnet	牛血色	153,38,51
YSL 425	草莓色	177,27,28

		男性				女性
		一致		不一致		一致		不一致
颜色词判断	反应时		5011(37.7)		5681(42.4)		2046(21.8)		1996(21.5)
颜色词判断	准确率		88 (1.5)		42 (2.3)		81 (1.7)		34 (2.1)
颜色判断	反应时		8160(33.7)		7454(10.9)		2687(58.8)		6639(35.1)
颜色判断	准确率		61 (2.3)		57 (2.3)		87 (1.5)		88 (1.5)