Whorfian effects on colour memory are not reliable

Abstract

The Whorfian hypothesis suggests that differences between languages cause differences in cognitive processes. Support for this idea comes from studies that find that patterns of colour memory errors made by speakers of different languages align with differences in colour lexicons. The current study provides a large-scale investigation of the relationship between colour language and colour memory, adopting a cross-linguistic and developmental approach. Colour memory on a delayed matching-to-sample (XAB) task was investigated in 2 language groups with differing colour lexicons, for 3 developmental stages and 2 regions of colour space. Analyses used a Bayesian technique to provide simultaneous assessment of two competing hypotheses (H1–Whorfian effect present, H0–Whorfian effect absent). Results of the analyses consistently favoured H0. The findings suggest that Whorfian effects on colour memory are not reliable and that the importance of such effects should not be overestimated.