Dressing Up for a BBQ on a Blurry Street: #TheDress Is Not Only Ambiguous in Terms of Illumination But Also in Terms of Scene Content.

Jasna Martinovic

doi:10.1177/2041669519856037

Abstract

Explicit or implicit assumptions about the source of illumination are a key determinant of perceived colours from the image of #TheDress. In addition, previous work showed that the extent of the processing of contextual cues in the image may be reduced in blue and black perceivers. This is a brief report of a questionnaire study which focused on the ambiguity of light direction as well as on the ambiguity of the content of #TheDress photograph itself. We replicated previous reports about the importance of perceived light direction: White and gold perceivers were more likely to report light from the back than sideways light. Descriptions of #TheDress image did not relate to perceived colour or light direction, but there were many erroneous reports and a high level of ambiguity. It is highly likely that the ambiguity of image content feeds into the importance of implicit factors that influence perceived illumination as determinants of dress colour.

Highlights

Gegenfurtner, and Doerschner (2017), Chetverikov and Ivanchei (2016), and Hesslinger and Carbon (2016) demonstrate that explicit or implicit assumptions about the source of illumination are a key determinant of perceived colours from the image of #TheDress
The hypothesis was that observers with more detailed cognitions about the content of the image and their relation to light might be more likely to perceive the dress as white and gold
The sample consisted of 140 participants (43 men, 97 women; mean age 21 years, range 17 to 64 years) and was approved by the ethics committee of the School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen

Summary

Introduction

Explicit or implicit assumptions about the source of illumination are a key determinant of perceived colours from the image of #TheDress. Toscani, Gegenfurtner, and Doerschner (2017), Chetverikov and Ivanchei (2016), and Hesslinger and Carbon (2016) demonstrate that explicit or implicit assumptions about the source of illumination are a key determinant of perceived colours from the image of #TheDress.

Results

Conclusion