Perceiving colour through a language lens A scoping review of experimental work on effects of language on colour perception

The popularity of colour perception as a vehicle to investigate language-perception interactions has led to a large body of experimental work. Recently, studies have focused on investigating the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms of effects of language on colour perception. Because of substantial variation in experimental designs and the study conditions in these designs, evaluating and comparing the evidence reported in these studies remains complex. This is problematic, because language-perception interactions manifest themselves differently across cognitive contexts and task designs. To shed light on the precise conditions under which such effects are obtained, we conducted a scoping review on 72 experimental papers, and we assessed the experimental approaches taken. Based on this review, we recommend committing to an interdisciplinary approach, relying on knowledge of the neuroscience of perception. We provide specific examples of how future research can carefully investigate the relationship between cognitive load, attention, working memory and verbal label access.