ABSTRACT
Language custom designates racial groups by the color names white, black, red, yellow, and brown, a practice which may condition the connotative meanings of color names to concepts representing racial groups. This study compared the connotative meanings of triads of color-linked concepts consisting of: color names (e.g., black), color-person concepts (e.g., black person), and ethnic concepts (e.g., Negro). For Caucasian Ss from both South and Midwest, color linked concepts were substantially more similar in meaning than were non-color-linked concepts. The evaluative (good-bad) connotations of ethnic concepts were predictable from their associated color names. Different results were obtained for Negro Ss. The findings were interpreted as indicating that the color-coding of racial groups is related to the perception of these groups and the favorability of attitudes toward them.
