First Advisor

Joe E. Pierce

Term of Graduation

Spring 1973

Date of Publication

5-1973

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Anthropology

Department

Anthropology

Language

English

Subjects

Synesthesia

DOI

10.15760/etd.2154

Physical Description

1 online resource (2, v, 63 pages)

Abstract

It has been suggested in the literature that Synaesthesia, as an expression of syncretic thought, would be more common in non-Western than in Western cultures. Given the lack of availability of widely divergent cultural groups and the general lack of knowledge about the phenomenon, it was decided to study the possibility that synaesthesia in our society might be related to socio-economic class. A group of high school students from a broad range of socio-economic backgrounds was studied, and the results suggest that the occurrence of synaesthesia is not related to class. In addition, it was found that 50% of the sample tested were synaesthetic to some degree, an incidence higher than any reported previously for adults. The various types of synaesthesia are discussed in conjunction with a hypothetical neurophysiological basis for the phenomenon. It was found that about 60% of the synaesthetic subjects showed evidence of incomplete cerebral dominance. However, no definite conclusions as to the causes of synaesthesia in adults could be determined from the observations made, and the questions raised by this study offer suggestions for future research into the problem.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Comments

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/13375

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