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Chromatic Contrast Sensitivity

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Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology

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Synonyms

Color Contrast Sensitivity (rarely)

Definition

Chromatic contrast sensitivity is the ability to see chromatic contrast. Chromatic contrast refers to the occurrence of differences in chromaticity (saturated, hueful color) in a visual percept (scene, image, and stimulus). It may consist in differences across space (spatial chromatic contrast) or in changes of chromaticity across time (temporal chromatic contrast). The term chromatic contrast is used in opposition to achromatic contrast, where differences only occur in luminance (greyscale). Chromatic contrast sensitivity depends on the spatial and temporal frequency of contrast (low-pass) in a way that differs from achromatic contrast sensitivity (band-pass).

Conceptual Clarifications

Almost every phenomenon in color vision involves contrasts between colors. Colors are not perceived absolutely, but relative to other colors, and contrasts between colors affect the appearance of the single colors (for review, see [1])....

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Christoph Witzel

  2. Department of Psychology, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany

    Karl Gegenfurtner

Authors
  1. Christoph Witzel
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  2. Karl Gegenfurtner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christoph Witzel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Color Science & Imaging Lab, North Carolina State Univ, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Renzo Shamey

Section Editor information

  1. University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States

    Gaurav Sharma

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Witzel, C., Gegenfurtner, K. (2023). Chromatic Contrast Sensitivity. In: Shamey, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_17-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_17-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27851-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27851-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Chromatic Contrast Sensitivity
    Published:
    21 April 2023

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_17-2

  2. Original

    Chromatic Contrast Sensitivity
    Published:
    26 September 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_17-1

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