Unique Hues Are Not Invariant with Brief Stimulus Durations’
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Perpmon Press Ltd 1’419. Rtntcd an Great Brttrm UNIQUE HUES ARE NOT INVARIANT WITH BRIEF STIMULUS DURATIONS’ Arriz~ L. NAGY’ University of Michigan (Received I8 Seprrmber 197s) Abstract-Unique hue loci were obtained from three observers at several intensity levels with a I-set stimulus flash and a 17 msec stimulus flash. With the one-second stimulus the three spectral unique hues were approximately invariant but unique red was not. With the I7 msec stimulus none of the unique hues is strictly invariant. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the nature of the cone signal inputs to the opponent color mechanisms. IL\iTRODUCTION recently been provided by Krantz (1975) and Larimer et al. (1974, 19X), whose work revolves around the The relationship between uniques hues and invariant question of whether unique hues are invariant hues hues has long been of interest in the study of color and whether additions of hues unique with respect to perception. Unique hues are the “psychologically” the same mechanism (e.g. unique yellow and unique primary or “pure” hues, which do not appear to be blue, which both are unique with respect to the red/ compounds of other hues: red, green, yellow. and green mechanism) result in another unique hue. These blue. The term invariant hues refers to those wave- two properties follow from the assumptions of fengths or spectral composites whose perceived hue modem opponent colors theory (Jameson and Hur- does not vary with changes in stimulus intensity. It is vich, 1955; Krantz, 1975), which include: clear that the hue of most stimuli does vary with stimulus intensity (Purdy, 1931). The effect is com- (i) Linear recombination of signals initiated by pho- monly known as the Bezold-Briicke effect. topigment absorptions in cones into two opponent As early as 1880 Hering maintained that the set of color mechanisms; red/green and yellow/blue. unique hues was identical with the set of invariant (ii) Faster growth of yellow/blue opponent mechan- hues. This identity has significance for models of the ism signals than red/green signals as intensity is in- color coding mechanisms and explanations of the in- creased. tensity dependence of most hues. The intensity depen- (iii) Dependence of perceived hue on the ratio of the dence of hue has been considered to be a manifes- two opponent mechanisms responses and in particu- tation of non-linearity in the color coding mechanism lar, observance of unique hues when the response of nearly since the time of its discovery. This idea is one opponent mechanism is zero. generally credited to Pierce (1887). though some Together these assumptions predict that all unique credit should be given to Maxweil (1856) for first hues must be invariant hues and conversely that all recognizing the non-linearity of color coding. How- invariant hues must be unique hues. Additions of two ever, there has been some debate about where the hues unique with respect to the same mechanism non-linearity occurs. Trichromatic theories of color must produce another unique hue. All hues which are coding have suggested that the hue shifts occur as a not unique must vary with stimulus intensity as a result of non-linearities in the signals from the three result of the faster growth of yellow/blue opponent cone mechanisms (Pierce, 1877; Walraven, 1961; mechanism signals. Savoie, 1973). Opponent theories of color coding have From their experiments Larimer et al. conclude suggested that the signals input to the opponent that assumption (i) is correct for the red/green mech- mechanisms from the three cone mechanisms are anism but not for the yellow/blue mechanism They linear with intensity, and that the non-linearity which found that unique red was not invariant, which im- produces the hue shifts occurs in the signals of the plies that signals input to the yellow/blue mechanism opponent mechanisms (Judd, 1951; Jameson and are not linear functions of intensity. They point out, Hurvich, 1955). Some resolution to this debate has however, that the departure from linearity would tend to work against the Bezold-Briicke hue shifts. This finding implies that the Bezold-Briicke hue shift is ’ This research was supported by NE1 Post Doctoral primarily a manifestation of non-linearity more proxi- Fellowship 7 F32 EY-05083 to the author, and NSF grant mai &an the site of opponent cancehation, as sug- 33642-X to David H. Krantz. Portions of this paper were gested by assumption to (ii). Though there is some presented at the Spring Meetings of the Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology. Sarasota. Florida non-linearity in input to the yellow/blue mechanisms, 1978. its effect on perceived hue must be small compared to ’ Current address: Center for Human Information Pro- the effect of the non-linearity at the opponent level cessing, University of California. San Diego, California which primarily determines how the hue of most 92093, U.S.A. stimuli will change with intensity. “It. 19 I?-_1 1427 Recent experiments (Savoie. 1973; Nagy and Zacks. to the rules of J double random st;llrcase proccdurs 1977: Center et a/., 197s) have suggested that unique \Cornsueet 1962). The starting points of the two rsndomlq yellow is not invariant with intensity when the stimu- intermixed staircases. generali) 30 or -lOnm apart. mere lus is a brief flash. This result implies that assumption chosen to bracket the region containing the unique hue. (i) may not hold for the red:green mechanism as well Each staircase independentl! followed the same rules for step sizes. The initial step %ze was 10 nm. After the first as the yellow blue mechanism under some conditions. reversal, the step size was 5 nm until the second reversal It also suggests that the degree of linearity or non- occurred. After the second reversal. the step size was fixed linearity of cone signals input to the opponent mech- at either two or three nm. The staricase was terminated anisms may be dependent to some degree on the par- \bhen three reversals had occurred with the smallest step ticular stimulus conditions used. This paper presents size. After both staircases were completed the luminance of further evidence for this suggestion. Results show that the stimulus was changed and another pair of staircases the invariance of unique hues is clearly dependent on igas run. Luminance was barisd in 0.55 log unit steps over stimulus duration. implying that the nature of the the available range generally going from bright to dim or intensity-response functions of the signals input to the dim to bright. Trials were presented ebery I@-20s~ with opponent mechanisms is also dependent on stimulus brief rest periods between pairs of staircases. In order to obtain a unique red. 625 and -170nm lights were mixed. duration. The 625 nm light was yellou-red in hue and the -170 nm for most observers. .4ddition METHODS ligh! uas nearI! unique blue of small amounts of 170 nm light to the 615 nm light can- .A conventional Maxwellian view optical system was celled out the yellowness in the 625 nm light resulting in ;L used to deliver stimuli to the observer. A Xenon-arc lamp unique red. which was quite saturated in chromatic (150 W Osram) driven by a current-regulated d.c. power appearance. Slightly more saturated reds could have been supply provided the illumination which was passed produced by adding the J7Onm light to an even longer through Schoeffel double monochromators. Temporal par- waveleng.th yellow-red. but even smaller amounts of the ameters were controlled with electronic shutters (Vincent -tiOnm light would have been required to cancel the yel- Uniblitz) which provided nearly square-wave pulses either lowness. making the task difficult for the observer at low 17 msec or I set in duration. Intensity was controlled with luminance levels. Therefore 625 nm was chosen as one pri- calibrated Wrattcn neutral density wedges. Radiance mary since its mixture with 170 nm resulted in a unique red measures were made with a photodiode (United Detector with good chromatic saturation and measurements could Technology Pin-lo) and illuminance at %Onm was esti- be obtained at relatively low luminance levels with little mated with a MacBeth Illuminometer and the method of difficulty. The luminance of the 615 nm light was fixed at a Westheimer (1966). A field stop provided a stimulus approx giren level and the luminance of the 170 nm light was 0.6 in diameter. An adjustable bite bar was used to hold varied with the staircase procedure described above. The the observer rigidly in position and fixation was controlled starting points of the two staircases were 1.8 log units apart with four small. dim fixation points arranged in a diamond and successive step sizes in the staircase were 0.4. 0.2. and shape. The stimulus was presented at the intersection of 0.1 log units. imaginary lines connecting the horizontal and vertical One female. and two males. including author AN. served pairs. The observer was instructed to fixate the imaginary as observers. All had normal color vision and extensive intersection point in order to ensure that the stimulus was experience with the judgment before data presented here presented to the rod free fovea. Two considerations were were collected. involved in the choice of the field size. A small field was desirable to ensure that the stimulus was presented to a RESULTS rod free area. in order to avoid possible effects of rod sig- nals on hue at low illuminance levels. Second. it seemed Determination of unique hues with 1 set Hashes are desirable to use a field size small enough to allow the shown in Fig.