What colour does that feel? Tactile–visual mapping and the development of cross-modality

Humans share implicit preferences for cross-modal mappings (e.g., low pitch sounds are preferentially paired with darker colours). Individuals with synaesthesia experience cross-modal mappings to a conscious degree (e.g., they may see colours when they hear sounds). The neonatal synaesthesia hypothesis claims that all humans may be born with this explicit cross-modal perception, which dies out in most people through childhood, leaving only implicit associations in the average adult. Although there is evidence for decreasing cross-modality throughout early infancy, it is unclear whether this decline continues to take place throughout childhood and adolescence. This large-scale study had two goals. First, we aimed to establish whether human non-synaesthetes systematically map tactile and visual dimensions – a combination that has rarely been studied. Second, we asked whether tactile–visual associations may be more pronounced in younger compared to older participants. 210 participants between the ages of 5–74 years assigned colours to tactile stimuli. Smoothness, softness and roundness of stimuli positively correlated with luminance of the chosen colour; and smoothness and softness also positively correlated with chroma. Moreover, tactile sensations were associated with specific colours (e.g., softness with pink). There were no age differences for luminance effects. Chroma effects, however, were found exclusively in children and adolescents. Our findings are consistent with the neonatal synaesthesia hypothesis which suggests that all humans are born with strong cross-modal perception which is pruned away or inhibited throughout development. Moreover, the findings suggest that a decline of some forms of cross-modality may take place over a much longer time span than previously assumed.