Abstract

A given visual stimulus viewed monocularly with one eye can change in perceived color when viewed monocularly with the other eye. We report here the magnitude of interocular difference for many observers. In the color perception task, observers adjusted a mixture of 540- and 660-nm lights for equilibrium (neither reddish nor greenish) yellow. Measurements were made over a test-field radiance range of 2.4 log units in each of three adapting conditions: (1) dark adaptation, (2) 10 troland, 660-nm adaptation, and (3) 100 troland, 660-nm adaptation. In some sessions the test was presented steadily, and in others it was briefly flashed (200 ms). The results show reliable differences between an individual’s two eyes, with the average difference between the eyes varying substantially from one observer to the next. In comparison to dark adaptation, a chromatic adapting field increases the magnitude of both the interocular difference itself and the variability of the interocular difference across observers. One implication of these results is that (monocularly measured) color perception differences between observers, which of course are differences between eyes as well as between people, should be evaluated relative to differences between eyes of single observers.

© 1986 Optical Society of America