Did YOUR Fisher-Price fridge magnets give you synaesthesia? Retro toy causes people to mix up colours and letters, claims study

  • Synaesthesia is a condition in which separate senses are linked
  • Scientists determined which colours are usually connected with letters
  • They then compared these colour-letter matches to Fisher-Price magnets
  • They claim 6% of people learnt their matches from the Fisher-Price toy

By Ellie Zolfagharifard and Victoria Woollaston for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

Children of the 1970s and 1980s will likely remember the chunky, plastic Fisher-Price magnets that adorned fridges in family homes.

The popular toys were designed to help teach children to read and spell.

But for some people, they had another unintended consequence; the magnets forever changed the colours that people would associate with letters.

The child with the hood in this photo was born in 1988 and is an adult synesthete. His colour-letter pairings matched 25 of the 26 letters in the Fisher-Price magnet set, which is in the foreground

The child with the hood in this photo was born in 1988 and is an adult synesthete. His colour-letter pairings matched 25 of the 26 letters in the Fisher-Price magnet set, which is in the foreground

At least that's the conclusion of a study on synaesthesia - a neurological condition in which two or more senses experienced separately are involuntarily joined together.

For instance, some synaesthetes experience colour when they hear sounds or read words. Others experience tastes, smells or shapes.

It is believe that around one in 10,000 of people have synaesthesia, and scientists are still unsure exactly what causes some people to perceive two senses at the same time.

A large amount of research, according to Discover magazine, has previously suggested the condition can be learned, rather than being the result of genetic factors.

DO YOU ASSOCIATE THESE COLOURS WITH LETTERS? 
How Fisher-Price labelled its magnets by colour
 Letter ColourLetter Colour LetterColour
A RedB  OrangeC  Yellow
D  GreenE  BlueF  Purple
G  RedH  OrangeI  Yellow
J  GreenK  BlueL  Purple
M  RedN  OrangeO  Yellow
P  GreenQ  BlueR  Purple
S  RedT  OrangeU  Yellow
V  GreenW  BlueX  Purple
Y  RedZ Orange  
This graphic shows the results for 400 synesthetes with 10 or more letters matching the toy. The rows correspond to participants and columns to letters. The colours along the bottom represent the most frequently chosen colour label for each letter

This graphic shows the results for 400 synesthetes with 10 or more letters matching the toy. The rows correspond to participants and columns to letters. The colours along the bottom represent the most frequently chosen colour label for each letter

The latest study adds to that body of work by suggesting the toy caused a generation to foreever link A with red, F with purple and P with green.  

Researchers from the Department of Psychology at Stanford University used data from 6,588 registered users to determine which colours are most commonly associated with which letters.

They then compared these colour-letter matches to fridge magnets sold by Fisher-Price between 1971 and 1990.

The results revealed that at least six per cent (400 out of the 6588 participants) learnt 'many of their matches' from the Fisher-Price set.

Among those born in the decade after the toy began to be manufactured, the proportion of synesthetes with learned letter-colour pairings was closer to 15 per cent.

The colours in the toy (upper row), the average colour choice for each letter from the 6188 synesthetes (middle row), and the most commonly assigned colour for each letter for the 400 synesthetes are shown here. Fig C shows when the choice does not match the toy (bottom row)

The colours in the toy (upper row), the average colour choice for each letter from the 6188 synesthetes (middle row), and the most commonly assigned colour for each letter for the 400 synesthetes are shown here. Fig C shows when the choice does not match the toy (bottom row)

Red bars show proportion of participants with 10 or more matches to the magnet set. Grey bars show participants with seven or more matches. For participants born between 1970 and 1985, the prevalence of synesthesia apparently learned from the Fisher-Price set can exceed 15 per cent

Red bars show proportion of participants with 10 or more matches to the magnet set. Grey bars show participants with seven or more matches. For participants born between 1970 and 1985, the prevalence of synesthesia apparently learned from the Fisher-Price set can exceed 15 per cent

WHAT IS SYNAESTHESIA? 

Synaesthesia is a neurological condition in which two or more senses experienced separately are involuntarily joined together.

For instance, some synaesthetes experience colour when they hear sounds or read words. Others experience tastes, smells or shapes.

Some people are born with synaesthesia, while others experience it after a stroke, or while using psychedelic drugs such as LSD. Famous synaesthetes include singers Pharrell Williams and Lady Gaga.

There have also been studies in which researchers claimed to have taught people to be synaesthetic - and as a result it is a widely contested condition.

Reports claim it can affect as many as one in 23 people and has been linked with high-levels of creativity and intelligence.

But among those born five years or more before it was manufactured, none of the colour-letter matches were aligned with the colours used in the set.

'Analysis of the letter-colour matching data suggests the only difference between synesthetes with matches to the toy and those without is exposure to the stimulus,' explained the paper.

'This indicates learning of letter-colour pairings from external [sources] can occur in a substantial fraction of synesthetic, and are consistent with the hypothesis that synesthesia is a kind of conditioned mental imagery.'

The authors did point out, however, that there may have been other cues – such as cultural influences, or other popular toys or magnet sets that played a role.

They also said their findings don't suggest that colourful toys cause synaesthesia. 

Instead the associations of people already predisposed to the condition can be influenced by external factors

The authors did point out that there may have been other cues – such as cultural influences, or other popular toys or magnet sets that played a role

The authors did point out that there may have been other cues – such as cultural influences, or other popular toys or magnet sets that played a role

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