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Color Categorical Perception

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Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology

Definition

Categorical perception (CP) occurs when discrimination of items that cross category boundaries is faster or more accurate than discrimination of exemplars from the same category. Categorical perception of color is observed when, for example, a green stimulus and a blue stimulus are more easily distinguished than two stimuli from the same color category (e.g., two different shades of green). Color differences in terms of discriminability can be equated across between-category and within-category comparisons by using the Commision Internationale de L’Eclairage (CIE) values. It is therefore important to note that superior cross-category relative to within-category discrimination is observed when the physical distance between cross-category items and the physical distance between within-category items are equivalent.

Categorical Perception Using a Two Alternative Forced-Choice Procedure

Categorical perception of color has been demonstrated many times using a two alternative...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Essex, CO4 3SQ, Colchester, UK

    J. Richard Hanley

Authors
  1. J. Richard Hanley
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Correspondence to J. Richard Hanley .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Modern, Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Ming Ronnier Luo

  2. School of Design, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Ming Ronnier Luo

  3. Graduate Institute of Colour and Illumination, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Ming Ronnier Luo

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Hanley, J.R. (2016). Color Categorical Perception. In: Luo, M.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8071-7_61

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