The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and Probabilistic Inference: Evidence from the Domain of Color

Abstract

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis holds that our thoughts are shaped by our native language, and that speakers of different languages therefore think differently. This hypothesis is controversial in part because it appears to deny the possibility of a universal groundwork for human cognition, and in part because some findings taken to support it have not reliably replicated. We argue that considering this hypothesis through the lens of probabilistic inference has the potential to resolve both issues, at least with respect to certain prominent findings in the domain of color cognition. We explore a probabilistic model that is grounded in a presumed universal perceptual color space and in language-specific categories over that space. The model predicts that categories will most clearly affect color memory when perceptual information is uncertain. In line with earlier studies, we show that this model accounts for language-consistent biases in color reconstruction from memory in English speakers, modulated by uncertainty. We also show, to our knowledge for the first time, that such a model accounts for influential existing data on cross-language differences in color discrimination from memory, both within and across categories. We suggest that these ideas may help to clarify the debate over the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

More Than the Eye Can See: A Computational Model of Color Term Acquisition and Color Discrimination

“…However, the Cibelli et al. () model has no learning component that incrementally acquires the color category knowledge, so it is unable to explore the effects of various factors on both acquisition and use of color vocabulary knowledge.…”

“…This approach enables them to account for the category boundary and perceptual magnet effects of Roberson et al (2000Roberson et al ( , 2005 and Bae et al (2015). However, the Cibelli et al (2016) model has no learning component that incrementally acquires the color category knowledge, so it is unable to explore the effects of various factors on both acquisition and use of color vocabulary knowledge.…”

Variations in normal color vision. VII. Relationships between color naming and hue scaling

“…This relativism could arise because verbal categories are presumably also shaped by interaction and communication among observers (Jameson & Komarova, 2009, Lindsey, Brown, Brainard & Apicella, 2015, Steels & Belpaeme, 2005), so that categories are influenced by both perception and language [e.g. (Cibelli, Xu, Austerweil, Griffiths & Regier, 2016)], as well as a variety of other factors or decision rules at the various levels of representing and categorizing color (Cropper, Kvansakul & Little, 2013, Parraga & Akbarinia, 2016). Consequently this may weaken the potential links between color perception and color naming.…”

The Sapir‐Whorf hypothesis and inference under uncertainty

“…The notion that effects of language on cognition may arise from the interplay of verbal codes with perceptual representations is well‐represented in the literature and several studies have appealed to variants of the category adjustment model in this connection, in the color domain and others . Recently, a number of studies have tested such ideas directly by comparing empirical data with the output of computational category adjustment models …”

“…The amount of bias is determined by the uncertainty of the fine‐grained representation. (Reprinted from Ref . )…”