The Recognition of Color Names (Part 1) : By Female University Students

Color names pose a problem of awareness because there is a difference in recognition of colors, even if they have the same color name, and because some colors cannot be recognized, influenced by a gap in time, generation and daily circumstances. In this study, we examined the color range where color names can be recognized in our modern sense and various factors affecting such recognition based on a survey covering women's university students. The survey was carried out in a way of selecting from the proposed 153 color chips the one conforming to each of 105 color names extracted from "JIS Z 8102". As a result, the color names were roughly divided into the following three categories: color names recognized (66.7%); color names recognized vaguely (16.2%); color names not recognized (17.1%). In addition, after making a comparison between all the color names' reaction range and JIS values, 11.4% of the persons surveyed showed a reaction to the color range different from JIS values. They tended to react to the color range with higher chroma than JIS values. As the result of the factor analysis of the lifeawareness survey (18 items) carried out simultaneously, 8 factors were selected. We examined the influence of each factor's different score recorded by every person surveyed upon recognition of color names, however there was no remarkable chage at all. The name of colors for use in cosmetics and package color are believed to affect the recognition of color names. Also in the survey's findings, reaction colors are in accordance with colors used in cosmetics, and a stronger reaction to package color with high chroma than original colors tended to be observed. On the other hand, it is pointed out that warm colors can be memorized more easily than cold colors, and this time's survey also proved that the former are recognized more easily than the latter.