Synesthesia Results

I undertook an online synesthesia test, knowing that this is not the best method of ascertaining whether someone is synesthetic, but also thinking it might be interesting to find out how I rated on the test. I have copied and pasted my results page from the 'Synesthesia Battery' test, with some basic explanations of the results, as emailed to me by the website, below. 

Battery 1 status: complete on 9 August 2012

Types of synesthesia I have:

• Numbers - Colour
• Letters - Colour
• Weekdays - Colour
• Months - Colour
• Sequences - Spatial locations (Sequences such as numbers, weekdays or months)
• Taste - Colour
• Smell - Colour
• Personalities - Colour
• Touch - Colour
• Sound - Taste

Grapheme Colour Picker Test

In this test, I was presented with a random sequence of numbers and letters and had to use a colour wheel to select the colour I associate with each (if I have an associative colour for that particular number/letter). This meant that I had to 'manually' mix the exact colour from the tonal ranges of the colour wheel. The numbers/letters would be repeated throughout the sequence and as you can see from the table above, my colour mixes were very accurate, despite not having a reminder of the exact mix I had used in a previous answer for a particular number/letter. I think this is because the precise colour I associate with each is so strong and vivid. For example, the colour I associate with the letter 'E' is a pinky-grey; a 'Q' is a gentle lilac shade, whilst 'F' is purple and 'J' is violet-purple. The differences in colours can be very subtle. The speed-congruency test measured how quickly and accurately I was able to determine whether the computer presented another random sequence of the numbers/letters in the correct associative colour. It simply required me to click 'correct' or 'incorrect' as the numbers/letters were flashed onto the screen for one second only. The main problem I had with this aspect of the test was mistaking a zero for 'O' as they appeared very similar in the font used by the programme. I also confused an 'S' (tomato red) for a '5' (orange) on one question and answered 'incorrect' accidentally. 

In this battery, a score below 1.0 is ranked as synesthetic. Non-synesthetes asked to use memory or free association typically score in the range of a 2.0. A perfect score of 0.0 would mean that there was no difference in the colours selected on each successive presentation of the same letter. An accuracy percentage of right answers in the range of 85-100 typically indicates synesthetic association between the graphemes and colours. Those below 85% typically rule out synesthesia.

Weekday Colour Picker Test

This test required that I do the same as before, this time with days of the week. In this battery, a score below 1.0 is ranked as synesthetic. Non-synesthetes asked to use memory or free association typically score in the range of a 2.0. A perfect score of 0.0 would mean that there was no difference in the colours selected on each successive presentation of the same letter. 

Month Colour Picker Test

Again, the same method of testing synesthetic responses to the word was used. In this battery, a score below 1.0 is ranked as synesthetic. Non-synesthetes asked to use memory or free association typically score in the range of a 2.0. A perfect score of 0.0 would mean that there was no difference in the colours selected on each successive presentation of the same letter.

Vividness of Visual Imagery

Your VVIQ-2 Score is: 3.40625

This test quantifies how vividly different people can visualize objects and scenes. A score above 3 suggests a higher level of vividness relative to the general population. We are using this questionnaire to understand whether synesthetes are better at mental imagery than controls.

Projector Associator

Your PA Score is: -1.5

Projectors and Associators are proposed forms of synesthesia that describe how you experience your synesthetic percept. If you are classified as an 'Associator', it means that your synesthetic associations (like coloured letters, for example) are experienced in your mind's eye. When shown text on a page, Associators know that each letter has a colour, but they don't actually see colour on the page. If you are a 'Projector', it means that you physically see the colour projected onto the page in front of you. A positive score is classified as a Projector and a negative score is classified as an Associator. I am therefore classified as an Associator.