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Mechanisms of Color Categorization

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Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology

Synonyms

Factors of color categorization; Mechanisms of color categorization; Origin of prototypes; Origin of boundaries

Definition

Color categories vary across cultures, but there are important regularities. Where do these come from? Color categories are graded and feature a focal color or prototype. In the literature, for a long time, the question pertaining to the origin of color categories was conflated with the role and nature of prototypes. This entry goes over the main answers to this question.

What Is Color Categorization and Why It Matters

Some have claimed that categories are the building blocks of cognition [1]. Our experience of the world is temporal, featuring a series of events and sensory experiences. Yet, we are able to sort and organize these sensations into groups called categories. In the case of color, we categorize color experiences on the basis of the similarity of their chromatic qualities. The way colors are categorized is not trivial. Apart from their use in...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

    Yasmina Jraissati

  2. Ronin Institute, NJ, USA

    Yasmina Jraissati

Authors
  1. Yasmina Jraissati
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Correspondence to Yasmina Jraissati .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Color Science & Imaging Lab, North Carolina State Univ, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Renzo Shamey

Section Editor information

  1. Faculty of Engineering Sciences, University College London, London, Please select, UK

    Lindsay MacDonald

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Jraissati, Y. (2020). Mechanisms of Color Categorization. In: Shamey, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_405-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_405-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27851-8

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