カテゴリー分類が引き起こす認識の変化 : 英語の色彩語彙yellowの場合

Colors of things can change in human minds. Sandy color of bricks or yellowish white of the midday sun often turns into vivid yellow，when painted from memory. This study shows that this kind of perceptional change of color is caused by categorization. English color category of‘yellow' consist of various shades of color，from the prototypical‘yellow' of ‘lemon' to the peripheral‘yellow' of‘bricks' or the‘midday sun.' But once the color of‘bricks' or the‘midday sun' is colled‘yellow，' i.e. categorized as a member of the color category'‘yellow，'this color begins to get closer to the prototypical member of this category'， i.e. vivid yellow，in human minds. The change of perception can be a systematic process that happens with categories in general. This study provides a key to clarify the dynamic construction of categories.