Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ganzfeld

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology

  • 2 Accesses

Definition

A ganzfeld (a German word for “whole field”) is obtained when an observer is exposed to an absolutely homogeneous stimulation that covers the entire visual field. Any particular wavelength or intensity can produce the same effect.

History

The ganzfeld was first introduced in 1930 [1], by German Gestalt psychologist Wolfgang Metzger (1899–1979). Metzger was interested in elementary visual phenomena produced by impoverished visual conditions. The ganzfeld contains no luminance border, luminance ramp, or texture, while the light reaching the eyes is equal from all possible directions. Such conditions, called whiteout, can occur naturally during a snowstorm or in an airplane flying through clouds.

Perceptual Experience in the Ganzfeld

The typical visual phenomenology, for a person of normal sight, includes the emergence of “Eigengrau” [2], a uniform gray fog of indeterminate depth. This percept occurs regardless of the physical intensity and wavelength of the ganzfeld. Any...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Metzger, W.: Optische Untersuchungen am Ganzfeld. Psychol. Forsch. 13, 6–29 (1930)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Knau, H., Spillmann, L.: Failure of brightness and color constancy under prolonged Ganzfeld stimulation. SPIE Proc. 2657(4), 19–29 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Wackermann, J., Pütz, P., Allefeld, C.: Ganzfeld-induced hallucinatory experience, its phenomenology and cerebral electrophysiology. Cortex. 44(10), 1364–1378 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Knau, H.: Thresholds for detecting slowly changing Ganzfeld luminances. J. Opt. Soc. Am. A. 17, 1382–1387 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Schubert, J., Gilchrist, A.L.: Relative luminance is not derived from absolute luminance. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 33.(Suppl., 1258 (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Gur, M.: Color and brightness fade-out in the Ganzfeld is wavelength dependent. Vis. Res. 29(10), 1335–1341 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bolanowski, S.J., Doty, R.W.: Perceptual blankout of monocular homogeneous fields (Ganzfelder) is prevented with binocular viewing. Vis. Res. 27, 967–982 (1987)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Gur, M.: Perceptual fade-out occurs in the binocularly viewed Ganzfeld. Perception. 20(5), 645–654 (1991)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. McGuinness, D., Lewis, I.: Sex differences in visual persistence: experiments on the Ganzfeld and afterimages. Perception. 5(3), 295–301 (1976)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cohen, W., Cadwallader, T.C.: Cessation of visual experience under prolonged uniform visual stimulation. Am. Psychol. 13, 410 (1958)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia

    Suncica Zdravkovic

Authors
  1. Suncica Zdravkovic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suncica Zdravkovic .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. North Carolina State University, Color Science & Imaging Laboratories, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Renzo Shamey

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Zdravkovic, S. (2023). Ganzfeld. In: Shamey, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89862-5_347

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation