Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen 
Fachbereich 06, Psychologie und Sportwissenschaft
Abteilung Allgemeine Psychologie
Otto-Behaghel-Straße 10F
35394 Gießen

Campus: Building F1, Room 305
Phone: +49(0)641 / 9926-115
Fax: +49(0)641 / 99-26119
Email:

NEW

• Witzel C, Maule J, & Franklin A (accepted). Red, yellow, green and blue are not particularly colorful. Journal of Vision.
  
• Survey "Psychological assumptions and European elections" / Umfrage "Menschenbild und Europawahlen": Summary of results in English / Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse auf Deutsch
  
• Witzel C (2019). Variation of saturation across hue affects unique and typical hue choices. i-Perception, (10)5.
  
• Siuda-Krzywicka et al. (2019). Color categorization independent of color naming. Cell Reports, (28)10, 2471-2479.
  
• Siuda-Krzywicka et al. (2019). When colours split from objects: The disconnection of colour perception from colour language and colour knowledge. Cognitive Neuroscience.
  

Education

• Since 2016: PostDoc on colour and object categories (project of collaborative research centre/SFB).
  
• 2013-2016: PostDoc on computational models and sensory substitution, Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception; Universite Paris Descartes, Paris, France.
  
• 2012-2013: PostDoc on colour category development, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
  
• 2012: Doctorate in natural sciences, department of General & Experimental Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University, Gießen.
  Thesis: Colours' appearance in the light of language and experience.
  
• 2008: Magister (MA) in political science & cultural anthropology, Ruprecht-Karls-University, Heidelberg.
  Master thesis: Die psychologische Brücke zwischen Individuum und Gemeinschaft in der Politischen Theorie.
  
• 2006: Diploma (MA) in psychology, Ruprecht-Karls-University, Heidelberg.
  Diploma thesis: What prototypes can teach us about unknown knowledge. [Abstract]

Research Interests

• Colour Vision, in particular: Colour categorisation, colour constancy and illumination, object colours, colour development, and subjective experience of colour.
  
• Other: sensory substitution, synaesthesia, and implicit learning.
  

• Psychophysics and mathematical modelling, including colour rendering and instrument calibration, and eye tracking.
  
• Other: Developmental and cross-cultural approaches, field experiments, EEG.
  

• Cognitive effects (language, learning) on perception.
  
• Language: Linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism.
  
• Connectionism: Automatic perception of structure, feature creation, neural networks.
  
• Constructivism, situated cognition, and Sensorimotor Theory: Environmental and cultural factors of perception and cognition.
  
• Epistemology: Influence of learning and culture on insight.
  

Publications

• Witzel C, Maule J, & Franklin A (accepted). Red, yellow, green and blue are not particularly colorful. Journal of Vision.
  
• Siuda-Krzywicka K, et al. (2019). Color categorization independent of color naming. Cell Reports, (28)10, 2471-2479.
• Siuda-Krzywicka K, et al. (2019). When colours split from objects: The disconnection of colour perception from colour language and colour knowledge. Cognitive Neuroscience.
  
• Witzel C (2019). Variation of saturation across hue affects unique and typical hue choices. i-Perception, (10)5.
  
• Siuda-Krzywicka K, et al. (2019) The biological bases of colour categorisation: from goldfish to the human brain. Cortex, 118, 82-106.
  
• Groyecka A, Witzel, C, Butovskaya, M, & Sorokowski, P (2019). Similarities in color preferences between women and men: the case of the hunter gatherer Hadza tribe from Tanzania. Perception.
  
• Kerzel D, & Witzel (2019). The allocation of resources in visual working memory and multiple attentional templates. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 45(5), 645-658.
  
• Witzel C, & Gegenfurtner, KR (2018) Color Perception: Objects, constancy and categories. Annual Review of Vision Science, 4(1).
  
• Witzel C (2018) Misconceptions about colour categories. Review of Philosophy and Psychology.
  
• Witzel C, Olkkonen M, & Gegenfurtner KR (2018) A Bayesian Model of the Memory Colour Effect. iperception, 9(3).
  
• Witzel C, & Gegenfurtner KR (2018) Are red, yellow, green, and blue perceptual categories? Vision Research, 4(2).
  
• Weiss D, Witzel C, & Gegenfurtner KR (2017) Determinants of colour constancy and the blue bias. Iperception, 8(6).
  
• Witzel C, O'Regan JK, & Hansmann-Roth S (2017) The dress and individual differences in the perception of surface properties. Vision Research.
  
• Hamilton-Fletcher GDI, Witzel C, Reby D, & Ward J (2017) Sound Properties associated with Equiluminant Colours. Multisensory Research, 30(3-5), 337-362.
  
• Witzel C, Racey C, & O'Regan JK (2017) The most reasonable explanation of 'the dress': implicit assumptions about illumination. Journal of Vision, 17(2), 1-1.
  
• Witzel C, Van Alphen C, Godau C, & O'Regan JK (2016) Uncertainty of sensory signal explains variation of colour constancy. Journal of Vision, 16(15), 8.
  
• Witzel C, Olkkonen M, & Gegenfurtner KR (2016) Commentary: Memory Colours affect colour appearance. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 39, 51-52.
  
• Witzel C (2016) An Easy Way to Show Memory Color Effects. i-Perception, 7(5), 1-11.
  
• Witzel C (2016) New Insights Into the Evolution of Color Terms or an Effect of Saturation? i-Perception, 7(5), 1-4.
  
• Huebner GM, Shipworth DT, Gauthier S, Witzel C, Raynham P, & Chan W (2016) Saving energy with light? Experimental studies assessing the impact of colour temperature on thermal comfort. Energy Research & Social Science, 15, 45-57.
  
• Witzel C, & Gegenfurtner KR (2016) Categorical perception for red and brown. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 42(4), 540-570.
  
• Witzel, C. (2015). Commentary 'An experimental study of gender and cultural differences in hue preference'. Frontiers in Psychology, 6.
• Witzel, C., & Gegenfurtner, K. R. (2015). Category facilitation with equally discriminable colours. Journal of Vision, 15(8), 1-33.
  
• Witzel, C., Cinotti, F., & O'Regan, J. K. (2015). What determines the relationship between color naming, unique hues, and sensory singularities: Illuminations, surfaces, or photoreceptors? Journal of Vision, 15(8), 19.
  
• He, X., Witzel, C., Forder, L., Clifford, A., & Franklin, A. (2014). Color categories only affect post-perceptual processes when same- and different-category colors are equally discriminable. Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision, 31(4), A322-331.
  
• Maule, J., Witzel, C., & Franklin, A. (2014). Getting the gist of multiple hues: metric and categorical effects on ensemble perception of hue. Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision, 31(4), A93-A102.
  
• Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., & Witzel, C. (2014). Sex differences in color preferences transcend extreme differences in culture and ecology. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 21(5), 1195-1201.
  
• Witzel, C., & Franklin, A. (2014). Do focal colors look particularly "colorful"? Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision, 31(4), A365-374.
  
• Rothen, N., Seth, A. K., Witzel, C., & Ward, J. (2013). Diagnosing synaesthesia with online colour pickers: maximising sensitivity and specificity. Journal of neuroscience methods, 215(1), 156-160.
  
• Witzel, C., & Gegenfurtner, K. R. (2013). Categorical sensitivity to color differences. Journal of Vision, 13(7).
  
• Witzel C, & Gegenfurtner KR (2011). Is there a lateralized category effect for color? Journal of Vision, 11(12).
  
• Witzel C, Valkova H, Hansen T & Gegenfurtner KR (2011) Object knowledge modulates colour appearance. i-perception, 2(1), 13-49.
  
• Olkkonen M, Witzel C, Hansen T & Gegenfurtner KR (2010) Categorical color constancy for real surfaces. Journal of Vision, 10(9).
  

• Witzel C (2018) The role of saturation in colour naming and colour appearance. In LW MacDonald, CP Biggam, & GV Paramei (Eds.), Progress in Colour Studies: Cognition, language and beyond (pp. 41-58). Amsterdam: John Benjamin Publishing Company, .
• Witzel C & Hansen T (2015) Memory effects on colour perception. In A. J. Elliot, M. D. Fairchild, & Franklin, A. (Eds.), Handbook of color psychology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Witzel C & Gegenfurtner K (2015) Chromatic Contrast Sensitivity. In R. Luo (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology (pp. 1-7). Berlin: Springer.
• Witzel C & Gegenfurtner KR (2014) Category effects on colour discrimination. In W. Anderson, C. P. Biggam, C. A. Hough & C. J. Kay (Eds.), Colour Studies: A broad spectrum (pp. 200-211). Amsterdam: John Benjamin Publishing Company.
• Witzel, C., & Gegenfurtner, K. R. (2013). Memory Colour. In R. Luo (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Heidelberg: Springer.
• Witzel, C. (2011). Unterschiede in der Farbwahrnehmung. In A. Groh (Ed.), Was ist Farbe? - Bunte Beiträge aus der Wissenschaft (pp. 39-62). Berlin: Weidler.
  
• Witzel, C. (2011). Farberscheinung und kulturelles Wissen: Der Gedächtnisfarbeffekt für kulturspezifische Objekte. TRANS, 18.
  

• Research feature: Seltsamer Fall von Sprachfindungsstörung, by Christiane Gelitz, Spektrum der Wissenschaft, 04.09.2019.
  
• Research feature: Human perception of colors does not rely entirely on language, Neuroscience News, 03.09.2019.
  
• Research feature: Psychologen der JLU Gießen untersuchen, wie Farben wahrgenommen werden, by Gesa Coordes, Gießener Anzeiger, 24.08.2019.
  
• Research feature: Wenn die Augen Streiche spielen, by Gesa Coordes, Forum Forschung, 6(1), 2019.
  
• Interview "Warum kann das Polarlicht grau sein?" Quarks - Die kleine Anfrage, WDR5, 07.03.2019.
  
• TV feature on colour "Die Macht der Farben." Alles Wissen, HR Fernsehen, 31. Januar 2019.
  
• Newspaper-Quiz "Endlich wirklich wissen, warum der Himmerl blau ist", Beat the Prof, Die Zeit, 16. November 2018.
• Interview "Hingucker", DAF Bluebook: Neunzig Jahre DAF, Der Fernfahrer, by Regina Weinrich, November 2018.
• TV feature "Rot, grün, blau - sehen alle Menschen Farben gleich?", W wie Wissen, ARD, 18. August 2018, 16.00h.
• Science Fair "Farben sehen, fühlen und hören (To see, feel, and hear colours)", Straße der Experimente, Gießen, 3. June 2018.
• Radio Interview, "Laurel & Yanni", Antenne Bayern, 17. May 2018, 15.45h.
• "Nach welcher Farbe fühlt sich das an?", Girls and Boys day, 26. Arpil 2018.
• Interview "Wir sehen auch graue Schlümpfe blau", by Till Hein, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 21. Jan. 2018.
• Radio Interview by Jenni Gärtner, Deutschlandfunk Nova, 04. Nov. 2017.
• Interview "Wir sehen auch graue Schlümpfe blau", by Till Hein, Profil Magazin, Oktober, 2017.
• Interview "Die beliebteste Farbe der Welt", by Till Hein, Neue Züricher Zeitung am Sonntag, 25. Aug. 2017.
• Consultation on #theDress for Buzzfeed The Color You See 'The Dress' Might Depend On When You Wake Up", published online on April 7th, 2017.
• Coverage of research on sensorimotor theory: What does it feel like?", EU Research, 9, published on 25. Aug. 2017.
• Article Spotlight "The Ability to Detect Color Differences is Not Categorical.", by James T. Enns, Article Spotlight: Experimental Psychology, 7. Apr. 2016.
• Consultation on #theDress on French TV broadcast (M6), 14. June 2015.
• Website "The dress - Why do different observers see extremely different colours in the same photo?" on FEEL - A sensorimotor approach to understanding consciousness, Mar. 2015.
• Consultation for the Radio-Feature "Die Kleine Anfrage: Sehen Menschen dieselbe Farbe anders?" Broadcasted by the German radio station WDR5, on the 10th of July 2008.