Attention, brightness contrast, and assimilation: The influence of relative area

Abstract

A model of information transmission in the visual system which describes the effect of attention on apparent brightness is examined. This model states in part that the luminance of the portion of the visual field which captures the attention is overweighted in arriving at an overall average luminance level across the visual field. As this average must be computed with respect to both luminance and relative area, it is hypothesized that increasing the relative area of the portion of the visual field that captures the attention will result in a greater effect on the apparent brightness of all parts of the visual field. Two predictions, which involve the effect of relative area on apparent brightness, are experimentally tested and confirmed. © 1973 Psychonomic Society, Inc.