Color diagnosticity or category: Which determines the role of color in visual object recognition?

Abstract

The role of color in object recognition has been a controversial issue. Tanaka and Presnell (1999) claim that “color diagnosticity”—the degree to which an object is associated with a specific color is important. Thus, color plays a role in the recognition of high color diagnostic (HCD) objects (e.g., banana), but not for low color diagnostic (LCD) objects (e.g., table). However, previous studies also suggest that color is more beneficial for the recognition of natural objects (e.g., fruits, animals) than for artificial objects (e.g., tools, furniture). This study examines the relation between color effects, color diagnosticity, and object category. The results from four classification experiments suggest that color plays a major role in the recognition of HCD objects, irrespective of their category, but also that color diagnosticity effects are dependent on experimental context.