Effects of color and colored light on depth perception

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between different objects and background colors, and depth perception in interior spaces. The experiment was conducted in two phases which consist of colored background light pairs (cool white-orange, cool white-blue, cool white-green, cool white-red, warm white-cool white, red-green and orange-blue) with colored objects (orange, blue and gray) in front of them. A forced choice paired comparison method was used to evaluate the differences in depth perception caused by colors. The participants were students who were having their internships in Philips Research Eindhoven, Netherlands. Firstly, participants were tested for color blindness and visual acuity, and the ones who passed these tests participated in the experiment. After the first phase of the experiment, a second part was required in order to obtain more accurate results. The participants who had internally consistent results in the first phase participated in the second phase of the experiment. In both phases, participants judged the distances of two same colored objects in front of colored lit background by choosing the one which they perceived as closer to themselves. As a result, differences between hues are smaller than the variations in perception of the participants, so hue has a really small effect on depth perception when evaluated monocularly.