Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T09:21:03.440Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Criteria for basic tastes and other sensory primaries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2008

James E. Cutting
James E. Cutting
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601. [email protected]://people.psych.cornell.edu/~jec7/index.htm
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Primary, or basic, colors have been discussed for centuries. Over time, three criteria have emerged on their behalf: (a) their physical mixture yielding all other spectral colors, (b) the physiological attunement of receptors or pathways to particular wavelengths, and (c) the etymological history of the color term. These criteria can be applied usefully to taste to clarify issues.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , February 2008 , pp. 77 - 78
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Berlin, B. & Kay, P. (1969) Basic color terms: Their universality and evolution. University of California Press.Google Scholar
Boyle, R. (1663/1999) Some considerations touching the usefulness of experimental natural philosophy: The first part. In: The works of Robert Boyle, vol. 3, ed. Hunter, M. & Davis, E. B., pp. 189–290. Pickering and Chatto.Google Scholar
Herrnstein, R. J. & Boring, E. G. (1965) A source book in the history of psychology. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Kurlansky, M. (2002) Salt: A world history. Walker & Company.Google Scholar
Mintz, S. W. (1985) Sweetness and power: The place of sugar in modern history. Penguin.Google Scholar
Pfaffmann, C. (1941) Gustatory afferent impulses. Journal of Cellular and Comparative Physiology 17:243–58.Google Scholar
Schivelbusch, W. (1992) Tastes of paradise: A social history of spices, stimulants, and intoxicants. Vintage.Google Scholar