How Does That Word taste?

I don’t know about you, but numbers for me have always had personalities: five is rotund and can be grumpy; eight is perfect; seven is just beautiful.

I always thought I was goofy. Turns out I’m not alone. Other people experience words, numbers, colors, music in different ways. It’s called synesthesia. It is a fusion of the senses. People with synesthesia experience the world on several levels: numbers have personalities; they can taste words; they see colors when they hear music; they experience days of the week, months and even years as circles, ellipses or ovals.

University of West Georgia's Dr. Christine Simmonds-Moore, an assistant professor of psychology, is conducting a study of synesthesia. If you think this might describe you, consider participating in the study.

In the first phase of the study participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire about their experiences. If they meet the study criteria, they will be asked to come to UWG’s main campus in Carrollton to participate in two experiments and for a short interview.

A computer will administer the experiments. One of the experiments involves ESP; the other will explore imagination. The experiments and interview will take up to 90 minutes. Participants who are asked to come to the UWG campus will receive movie or book vouchers worth $15 as a thank you for taking part in this study. 

Anyone interested in participating, please contact Simmonds-Moore at csimmond@westga.edu.

Participant data will be stored in coded form and individual names will not be associated with their responses. Data will be analyzed based on general patterns rather than individual scoring. If examples are used in publications and presentations, such examples will only be referred to by use of pseudonyms.

For more information go to: http://www.wix.com/csimmond/synesthesiastudy.