Time-intensity reciprocity in acuity as a function of luminance and figure-ground contrast.

Abstract The visibility of Londolt Cs was studied for equal-energy presentations of different durations, at three levels of energy. Seven different conditions of presentation were used, differing in mode of presentation (black-on-grey, white-on-grey and white-on-black) and in level of figure-ground contrast. The analysis shows that the critical duration ( t c ) depends on the luminance-duration product for the brighter part of the exposed field, and is best understood as a property of luminance. The U-shaped variation of t c as a function of energy is tentatively attributed to scotopic and photopic mechanisms. Differences between t c for acuity and for brightness discrimination are explained by the effect of the adapting field in the latter task.

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