title: Minimalist surface-colour matching.
abstract: Some theories of surface-colour perception assume that observers estimate the illuminant on a scene so that its effects can be discounted. A critical test of this interpretation of colour constancy is whether surface-colour matching is worse when the number of surfaces in a scene is so small that any illuminant estimate is unreliable. In the experiment reported here, observers made asymmetric colour matches between pairs of simultaneously presented Mondrian-like patterns under different daylights. The patterns had either 49 surfaces or a minimal 2 surfaces. No significant effect of number was found, suggesting that illuminant estimates are unnecessary for surface-colour matching.
authors.affiliation: Computational Neuroscience Group, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M60 1QD, UK. k.amano@manchester.ac.uk
authors.forename: Kinjiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Amano
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: Sérgio M C
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Nascimento
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D003119:Color Perception Tests; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008029:Lighting; D008297:Male; D011601:Psychophysics