This study investigates whether associations between color and temperature are universal or reflective of relative aspects shared by cultural variation. The authors hypothesize that while some color–temperature links may be shared across cultures, others may vary by cultural and developmental factors. Using an online survey with children and adults worldwide comparing 20 colors, they find universal associations in hues (e.g., red/yellow = warm, blue = cool), but cultural specificity in tones (lightness/saturation). Developmental effects were also explored and were shown to have different cultural trajectories. The conclusion was that color–temperature associations are both universal and shaped by culture and development, which highlights how much cultural influence have in the development of the perceptions to color and temperature.

This study investigates whether associations between color and temperature are universal or reflective of relative aspects shared by cultural variation. The authors hypothesize that while some color–temperature links may be shared across cultures, others may vary by cultural and developmental factors. Using an online survey with children and adults worldwide comparing 20 colors, they find universal associations in hues (e.g., red/yellow = warm, blue = cool), but cultural specificity in tones (lightness/saturation). Developmental effects were also explored and were shown to have different cultural trajectories. The conclusion was that color–temperature associations are both universal and shaped by culture and development, which highlights how much cultural influence have in the development of the perceptions to color and temperature.

This study investigates whether associations between color and temperature are universal or reflective of relative aspects shared by cultural variation. The authors hypothesize that while some color–temperature links may be shared across cultures, others may vary by cultural and developmental factors. Using an online survey with children and adults worldwide comparing 20 colors, they find universal associations in hues (e.g., red/yellow = warm, blue = cool), but cultural specificity in tones (lightness/saturation). Developmental effects were also explored and were shown to have different cultural trajectories. The conclusion was that color–temperature associations are both universal and shaped by culture and development, which highlights how much cultural influence have in the development of the perceptions to color and temperature.

This paper examines the Berlin-Kay color salience theory and offers four correlates of color salience: earliness of introduction, brevity of expression, frequency of use, and frequency of mention in ethnographic literature. All four correlations support the Berlin-Kay theory. The authors suggest that salience may be “an important general principle of cultural evolution” (1107).

The research presented in this book challenges the notion that languages develop color terms independently of other languages. Authors find a universal inventory of eleven basic color categories from which the basic color terms are drawn. Authors also find an apparent fixed sequence of evolutionary stages through which a language must pass as its color vocabulary increases. A postive correlation between cultural complexity and complexity of color vocabulary is observed.

This paper examines the Berlin-Kay color salience theory and offers four correlates of color salience: earliness of introduction, brevity of expression, frequency of use, and frequency of mention in ethnographic literature. All four correlations support the Berlin-Kay theory. The authors suggest that salience may be “an important general principle of cultural evolution” (1107).

The authors design and implement two tasks requiring linguistic and non-linguistic spatial reference across a linguistically-diverse sample in order to examine the relationship between language and cognition cross-culturally. The results, which indicate large conceptual variation in frame of spatial reference across as well as strong correlation between use of absolute descriptors and absolute cognitive representations within language communities, suggest that language structure may actively shape the systems of spatial representation available to different cultural groups.

This article examines the variation in color naming and susceptibility to visual illusions cross-culturally. Results suggest a geographic patterning of color naming and illusion susceptibility which parallels the distribution of eye pigmentation.

This paper examines the relationship between moralizing gods (gods that impose moral rules or punish those who break them) and social complexity. The authors argue that previous research, which relied on the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample's "moralizing high gods" variable as a proxy measure for the presence of moralizing gods, may have underestimated the presence of moralizing gods in societies. This is because the criteria used to define "moralizing high gods" are not relevant to whether a god is moralistic or punitive. The authors argue that this leads to a false positive association between moralizing gods and social complexity, and that ethnographic evidence suggests that moralizing gods are actually more prevalent in small-scale societies than had previously been thought. Future researchers, therefore, need to be careful about making assumptions about the moralizing gods of small scale societies based on "moralizing high gods", and find other ways to identify whether moralizing gods are present.

This paper examines the Berlin-Kay color salience theory and offers four correlates of color salience: earliness of introduction, brevity of expression, frequency of use, and frequency of mention in ethnographic literature. All four correlations support the Berlin-Kay theory. The authors suggest that salience may be “an important general principle of cultural evolution” (1107).