Comparing color qualia structures through a similarity task in young children versus adults.
Yusuke Moriguchi, Ryoichi Watanabe, Chifumi Sakata, Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, Jue Wang, Noburo Saji, Naotsugu Tsuchiya
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America March 18, 2025 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2415346122 via PubMed
Summary
Color qualia—the subjective experience of color, such as the quality of redness—are similar across age and culture. Using a task that obtained pairwise similarity judgments via intuitive visual interfaces, researchers tested children aged 3 to 12 in Japan and 6 to 8 in China, comparing them with Japanese adults. About half of 3-year-olds completed the touch-panel task reliably. Despite developmental and cultural differences in color-term usage, color qualia structures were quite similar across all groups. This suggests that these structures emerge early in life. Subtle age-related differences in evaluations of some color pairs imply minor changes in color experience with development.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Children aged 3 to 12 in Japan and 6 to 8 in China, and Japanese adults |
| Keywords | Children Color Consciousness Development Qualia |
| Citations | 13 |
| Key finding | Color qualia structures are quite similar across age groups and cultures, supporting the view that they emerge early. |
Abstract
Examination of the subjective qualitative aspects of an experience, or "qualia" in short, is a fundamental and core aspect of consciousness research. How can we characterize the particular quality of redness, i.e. a red quale? Based on a recent proposal of the structural characterization of qualia, which did not rely on verbal descriptions, we developed a task that obtained pairwise similarity judgments at four graded levels, with easy and intuitive visual interfaces designed to engage young children. We examined color qualia structures in children (3 to 12-y-old in Japan and 6 to 8-y-old in China) and compared these with those of Japanese adults. Approximately half of the assessed 3-y-old children completed the experiment via our touch panel device version of the task and had reliable responses. Despite known developmental and/or cultural effects of color term usage, we found that color qualia structures were quite similar across the age groups and cultures. Our finding supports the view that color qualia structures emerge early. We also observed age-related differences in the evaluations of some color pairs, which implied subtle changes in the structures behind color experience.