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Color constancy allows people to perceive color consistently in various lighting conditions. It is part of a larger system of subjective constancy that aids in object recognition and understanding of the world. The system uses input from different cones in the retina to process color information. Color constancy was discovered in the 1970s by a photographer and has since been extensively studied using a grid known as a Mondrian.
Color constancy is a part of the visual perception system that allows people to perceive color under a variety of conditions and see some consistency in color. A red apple in morning sunlight will also appear red in candlelight and late afternoon, when the wavelengths of available light are actually very different. Similarly, if the apple is partially in sun and partially in shade, an observer will read the entire apple as red. This allows someone to recognize the apple even if conditions have changed, with the eyes perceiving the color as relatively constant.
This system is part of a larger system of subjective constancy. Subjective constancy is used by the brain to help people perceive objects in changing situations. This ensures they can recognize those objects, which aids understanding of the world and can also become important for safety. For example, the ability to recognize a specific shape might help someone avoid danger, and the ability to compensate for distance when viewing a scene can also be important. Subjective constancy also allows people to identify and connect thematic elements, as seen when people recognize a work of art because it depicts a familiar scene.
Color constancy uses input from various cones in the retina. The cones are sensitized to different wavelengths of light and their collective data is processed by the brain to determine which colors they are looking at. Colors can be affected by what wavelengths of light are available and by the colors around them, which is why a color can look very different depending on what is placed next to it.
This aspect of the human color perception system was discovered in the 1970s. It was actually a photographer who identified the phenomenon of color constancy, perhaps because photography often requires a very high awareness of color and available light. Color constancy has since been studied extensively to learn more about how people see color and how color perception can be distorted.
Many examples used to demonstrate color constancy and the tricks that can be played with color use a grid known as a Mondrian. The grid consists of a series of squares, with the experimenter manipulating available light levels to see how people perceive the colors of the squares. An orange square, for example, may appear red with a different wavelength, and squares of the same color may appear different, depending on the colors around them.
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