THE EFFECTS OF WEARING SPECIAL GLASSES THAT ATTENUATE LIGHT WITH WAVELENGTHS AROUND

585 NM ON COLOR PERCEPTION

Megumi Nishikawa ¹* and Akiyoshi Kitaoka ²

¹ Graduate School of Human Science, Ritsumeikan University, Japan.

² College of Comprehensive Psychology, Ritsumeikan University, Japan.

*Corresponding author: Megumi Nishikawa, lt0848sr@ed.ritsumei.ac.jp

Keywords: Color perception, Special glasses, Light with wavelengths around 585 nm, Vividness

Poster presentation video: https://youtu.be/AyH9VnICpCY

We investigated the effects of wearing special glasses (NeoContrast, Mitsui Chemicals) that attenuate light with wavelengths around 585 nm on color perception. Previous studies reported that these glasses increased contrast sensitivity [1] and made red and green colors appear more vivid [2]. However, the effects on other colors have not been examined yet. Therefore, we examined the effects of wearing these glasses on the color perception of a wide range of hues using the Munsell color chart. Experiment 1 examined the effect of wearing these glasses on chromatic colors. Ten adults (6 females, 4 males; ages 21–30 years, mean age = 24.7 years) participated, and no one reported to have color vision deficiency. They observed Munsell color charts with and without these glasses. As a result, these glasses made all colors appear more vivid. Experiment 2 examined the effect of wearing these glasses on achromatic colors. Four adults (3 females, 1 male; ages 23–26 years, mean age = 24.5 years) participated, and they also participated in Experiment 1. They observed color charts with and without these glasses as in Experiment 1. As a result, there was no appearance of color on achromatic charts. Experiment 3 investigated the effects of visual adaptation after wearing these glasses. Ten adults (6 females, 4 males; ages 21–27 years, mean age = 24.0 years) participated. No one reported to have color vision deficiency, and they did not participate in Experiment 1 and 2. They rated vividness, beauty, preference and attractiveness of color charts immediately after wearing these glasses, 5, 10, 15, or 30 minutes later. The results showed that the ratings did not change significantly up to 30 minutes after wearing these glasses. In conclusion, these glasses made a variety of colors more vivid and there was no adaptive change in this effect.