Normally, human beings associate colors and shapes with the sense of sight, textures with touch, flavors with taste... but maybe we have met people who claim to taste the numbers or smell the colors. It is possible that we have many doubts related to this topic. We can come to think that these people are lying to us or that they have some kind of disease. However, the reality is very different.
What happens to these subjects is not a hallucination or a mental illness. Synesthesia is a curious characteristic that mixes the senses, creating a mental cocktail that results in a perception of the world somewhat different from what others see. This phenomenon is studied from many points of view. In this Psychology-Online article, we will talk about what is synesthesia in psychology: causes and types.
Index
- Synesthesia in psychology
- Causes of synesthesia
- Characteristics of synaesthetic people
- Types of synesthesia
- Examples of synesthesia in psychology
Synesthesia in psychology.
We can define synesthesia within the field of psychology as the involuntary ability to relate stimuli to senses that do not correspond to these sensations. This unconscious relationship can occur on many levels and between the different senses of the body.
A synaesthetic person is capable, for example, of match a number with a sound sharp or to see a certain color in the bitter taste. At first glance, this seems strange, typical of a mental pathology or the effect of some substance, but this phenomenon should not be confused with a medical condition. Synesthesia is not a disease, This is a curious ability and that usually does not entail any problem. We could go so far as to affirm that we are all a bit synaesthetic.
Let's take an example, two ways will be shown below, one of them is called Bouba and the other is called Kiki. Without knowing which is which, we must try to put their corresponding name:
Causes of synesthesia.
We normally associate Kiki to the pointy figure on the left and Bouba to the right.
Why does this phenomenon happen to us?
There are many theories about origin and causes of synesthesia. However, it is a phenomenon under constant study and the exact reasons for it have not yet been identified. Some experts assure that all neurons specialized in processing our stimuli are connected to each other and that, sometimes, involuntary circuits are produced.
Other people claim that synesthesia is a limited capacity and only a few people can develop it. These experts affirm that there is a strong genetic component and that you must have specific mental characteristics to be able to experience this phenomenon.
Another reason provided by social psychology is that, as we have all been educated in a similar context, we associate sensory stimuli even though they do not have a real relationship. This theory holds that if we associate black with sadness, it is because we have been raised in a culture where this color has always had negative connotations. If you want to know more about colors and their meaning, we recommend reading the following article about colors. psychological effects of colors.
Characteristics of synaesthetic people.
It is true that everyone can experience small synaesthetic samples. However, there are individuals with much more capacity to relate the different senses to each other.
These people usually have the imagination highly empowered, they are very creative and capable of processing many more stimuli than normal. Synaesthetic people, for example, not only see the color red, they smell it or can taste it. They are said to be smarter and have more developed memory, but there are no studies to prove these theories. What has been shown is that they have a different way of seeing the world and of relating to it.
It is difficult to define exactly how synesthesia works and what is in psychology if we are not people with this type of developed characteristic. However, we can get an idea by looking at the artistic creations of these individuals, such as poems, songs or paintings. In fact, in the literature there is a remedy called synesthesia. East literary resource it is based on attributing a sensory adjective to a stimulus to which it would not normally correspond.
Types of synesthesia.
Although they share the same origin and a similar definition, there are different types of synesthesia depending on the interaction between the senses. The main types of synesthesia are the following:
- Associate colored numbers and letters: like seeing the letter A in green or 8 in red.
- Relate colorful musical sounds: commonly known as musical synesthesia, this type is quite common among painters and other visual artists, these individuals usually put musical pieces to make their creations.
- Put flavors or colors at times: this phenomenon is quite common, we all understand what a bitter situation or a gray day.
Other less common types are based on defining people or living beings with colors, relating sounds to smells or, in some cases, tasting colors.
Examples of synesthesia in psychology.
- Put a pink color to the sweet taste
- Smell bitter while listening to a sad song
- See a bright color when we read something entertaining
- Match the number 4 with the color blue
- See the words in a conversation
- Savor a joyful situation
- Associate the sour smell with a cold temperature
There are many varieties of synesthesia and multiple sensory combinations, all of them are part of a phenomenon in constant study and about which we still do not know much. As time goes by and research advances, we will be able to answer the question of "What is synesthesia in psychology?"in a satisfactory manner.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is synesthesia in psychology: causes and types, we recommend that you enter our category of Neuropsychology.
