Cite as:
Ross D A, Logvinenko A D, 2002, "Individual differences in lightness perception" Perception 31 ECVP Abstract Supplement

Individual differences in lightness perception

D A Ross, A D Logvinenko

Eleven reflectances (range 0.14 to 0.79) were presented against a white background to inexperienced observers (fifteen extravert, five introvert). Observers were instructed to select a Munsell chip, which they judged to be the same lightness as that presented by the experimenter. Each observer completed four sessions (one session daily) with five runs in each session. ANOVA showed signifi- cant differences between observers, in particular significant differences between extraverts and introverts were found. For most reflectances (one exception) extraverts' matches were lighter than introverts'. Significant differences were also found between sessions, but not between trials. Intra-individual differences (within one observer) were nearly as large as inter-individual differences (between observers). The individual inter-quartile ranges averaged for observers and reflectances, made 0.42 Munsell unit. The inter-quartile ranges evaluated for all observers and averaged across reflectances made 0.59. This, along with the inconsistency of matches made in the different sessions, indicates that each observer in different sessions performed as if he or she was a different observer. All current models of lightness perception offer no explanation of such large intra-individual variability of lightness matching. However, it can be understood if one assumes that lightness judgments are ordinal (rather than interval) in nature (Logvinenko, 2002 Perception 31 201 - 207).

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