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Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology pp 1–6Cite as

Anchoring Theory of Lightness

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Synonyms

Achromatic color; Perceived reflectance; Perceived value.

Definition

Lightness refers to the white, black, or gray shade of a surface. The basic problem is that the light reaching the eye from a given surface, as the product of surface reflectance and illumination, does not specify the reflectance of the surface. A black in sunlight can reflect more light than a white in shadow. No computer program exists that can identify the reflectance of an object in a photo or video. Any possible solution must exploit the context surrounding the object. Anchoring theory proposes to solve the problem by grouping patches of the retinal image into regions of equal illumination, called frameworks, then computing lightness values within each framework using rules of anchoring combined with luminance ratios.

Background

Lightness refers to the perceived shade of white, gray, or black of a surface and is sometimes called perceived reflectance. The reflectance of a surface is the percentage of...

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References

  1. Gilchrist, A.: Seeing Black and White. Oxford University Press, New York (2006)

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  4. Wallach, H.: Brightness constancy and the nature of achromatic colors. J. Exp. Psychol. 38, 310–324 (1948)

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  5. Kardos, L.: Ding und Schatten [object and shadow]. Z. Psychol. 23, 1–184 (1934)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA

    Alan Gilchrist

Authors
  1. Alan Gilchrist
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alan Gilchrist .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

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

    Renzo Shamey

Section Editor information

  1. Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan

    Yoko Mizokami

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Gilchrist, A. (2020). Anchoring Theory of Lightness. In: Shamey, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_263-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_263-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • 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

    Anchoring Theory of Lightness
    Published:
    20 August 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_263-2

  2. Original

    Anchoring Theory of Lightness
    Published:
    30 June 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_263-1

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