title: The dynamic range of human lightness perception.
abstract: Natural viewing challenges the visual system with images that have a dynamic range of light intensity (luminance) that can approach 1,000,000:1 and that often exceeds 10,000:1 [1, 2]. The range of perceived surface reflectance (lightness), however, can be well approximated by the Munsell matte neutral scale (N 2.0/ to N 9.5/), consisting of surfaces whose reflectance varies by about 30:1. Thus, the visual system must map a large range of surface luminance onto a much smaller range of surface lightness. We measured this mapping in images with a dynamic range close to that of natural images. We studied simple images that lacked segmentation cues that would indicate multiple regions of illumination. We found a remarkable degree of compression: at a single image location, a stimulus luminance range of 5,905:1 can be mapped onto an extended lightness scale that has a reflectance range of 100:1. We characterized how the luminance-to-lightness mapping changes with stimulus context. Our data rule out theories that predict perceived lightness from luminance ratios or Weber contrast. A mechanistic model connects our data to theories of adaptation and provides insight about how the underlying visual response varies with context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. radonjic@sas.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radonjić
authors.forename: Sarah R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Allred
authors.forename: Alan L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gilchrist
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Brainard
mesh_terms: D015350:Contrast Sensitivity; D003463:Cues; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008029:Lighting; D008959:Models, Neurological; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D014785:Vision, Ocular; D014796:Visual Perception
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