Striking individual differences in color perception uncovered by ‘the dress’ photograph

Lafer-Sousa, Rosa; Hermann, Katherine L.; Conway, Bevil R.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.04.053

Cited by 174 publications

(246 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(8 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

201

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In this study some subjects reported a switch in perception (Table 2). Consistent with our findings previous studies reported a switch (7,11). Furthermore, Vemuri et al (7) reported the switch from white/gold-brown initially to blue/black.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Although there is a study about the dress color perception between right and left-handed participants in multiple sclerosis patients and general population (5), there is no study about the relationship between body lateralization and the color perception of the dress. Lafer-Sousa et al (11) suggest that differences in color perception of the dress might be due to aging, gender or spending more time on artificial light or daylight. Therefore, we chose a study population that consists of a young, healthy individual group which are at close ages and spent their time mostly at similar conditions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Relationships between color perception of the dress and functional, postural lateral preferences, some morphogenetic traits and chewing side preference

Erkeç¹,

Çölçimen²,

Keskin³

2017

Van Med J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between color perception of the dress and functional, postural lateral preferences, some morphogenetic traits and chewing side preference

Erkeç¹,

Çölçimen²,

Keskin³

2017

Van Med J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Previous research has investigated the perceptual experience of The Dress’ colors (Brainard and Hurlbert, 2015; Gegenfurtner et al, 2015; Lafer-Sousa et al, 2015; Schlaffke et al, 2015; Winkler et al, 2015; Chetverikov and Ivanchei, 2016; Moccia et al, 2016). This research has suggested that individual differences in the perceptual experience of the colors of The Dress can be explained by differences in assumed light conditions in the scene when the photograph was taken (Gegenfurtner et al, 2015; Lafer-Sousa et al, 2015; Chetverikov and Ivanchei, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This research has suggested that individual differences in the perceptual experience of the colors of The Dress can be explained by differences in assumed light conditions in the scene when the photograph was taken (Gegenfurtner et al, 2015; Lafer-Sousa et al, 2015; Chetverikov and Ivanchei, 2016). For example, objects in shadow appear bluish, and the light blue pixels in The Dress photograph may be interpreted (unconsciously) as a white fabric that appears bluish because it is in the shade.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lafer-Sousa et al (2015) argued that it could be because a person may be more used to certain light conditions (for example by being a morning-person or an evening person). Furthermore, Lafer-Sousa et al (2015) found that participants with experience of the photograph used the terms “blue and black” and “white and gold” more, as opposed to other color terms. Accordingly, previous experience may be related to entertaining the belief that there is a correct answer to the color question.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

What Is the Correct Answer about The Dress’ Colors? Investigating the Relation between Optimism, Previous Experience, and Answerability

Karlsson

Allwood

2016

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Dress photograph, first displayed on the internet in 2015, revealed stunning individual differences in color perception. The aim of this study was to investigate if lay-persons believed that the question about The Dress colors was answerable. Past research has found that optimism is related to judgments of how answerable knowledge questions with controversial answers are (Karlsson et al., 2016). Furthermore, familiarity with a question can create a feeling of knowing the answer (Reder and Ritter, 1992). Building on these findings, 186 participants saw the photo of The Dress and were asked about the correct answer to the question about The Dress’ colors (“blue and black,” “white and gold,” “other, namely…,” or “there is no correct answer”). Choice of the alternative “there is no correct answer” was interpreted as believing the question was not answerable. This answer was chosen more often by optimists and by people who reported they had not seen The Dress before. We also found that among participants who had seen The Dress photo before, 19%, perceived The Dress as “white and gold” but believed that the correct answer was “blue and black.” This, in analogy to previous findings about non-believed memories (Scoboria and Pascal, 2016), shows that people sometimes do not believe the colors they have perceived are correct. Our results suggest that individual differences related to optimism and previous experience may contribute to if the judgment of the individual perception of a photograph is enough to serve as a decision basis for valid conclusions about colors. Further research about color judgments under ambiguous circumstances could benefit from separating individual perceptual experience from beliefs about the correct answer to the color question. Including the option “there is no correct answer” may also be beneficial.

show abstract

Color Vision

Webster

2018

Stevens' Handbook of Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Advances in our understanding of color vision are proceeding on many fronts. These include analyses of the interplay of light and materials in natural scenes, to the genetic, neural, and cognitive processes underlying color sensitivity and percepts. The basic model for color vision, where the light spectrum is first sampled by receptors and then represented in opponent mechanisms, remains a cornerstone of color theory. However, the ways in which these processes are manifest and operate are surprisingly varied and still poorly understood. New developments continue to reveal that color vision involves highly flexible coding schemes that support sophisticated perceptual inferences. Characterizing these processes is providing fundamental insights not only into our experience of color, but into perception and neural coding generally.

show abstract

Striking individual differences in color perception uncovered by ‘the dress’ photograph

Cited by 174 publications

References 8 publications

Relationships between color perception of the dress and functional, postural lateral preferences, some morphogenetic traits and chewing side preference

Relationships between color perception of the dress and functional, postural lateral preferences, some morphogenetic traits and chewing side preference

What Is the Correct Answer about The Dress’ Colors? Investigating the Relation between Optimism, Previous Experience, and Answerability

Color Vision

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About