Premium
Redefining synaesthesia?
Author(s) -
Cohen Kadosh Roi,
Terhune Devin B.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.2010.02003.x
Subject(s) - psychology , perception , consistency (knowledge bases) , phenomenon , cognitive psychology , association (psychology) , epistemology , neuroscience , psychotherapist , computer science , artificial intelligence , philosophy
In a thought‐provoking paper, Simner (2012) highlights and criticizes a number of assumptions concerning synaesthesia. She specifically takes issue with the following assumptions: (1) synaesthesia is strictly a sensory‐perceptual phenomenon; (2) consistency of inducer‐concurrent pairs is the gold standard for establishing the authenticity of an individual's synaesthesia; and (3) synaesthesia is not heterogeneous. In the wake of this critique, Simner advances a working definition of synaesthesia as a neurological hyper‐association that aims to be more inclusive of its variants. We are very sympathetic to Simner's approach and believe that it raises important points that will advance our understanding of synaesthesia. Here we supplement, and sometimes challenge, some of these ideas.