Color preference of aged observers compared to young observers

Abstract

In modern society, elderly people tend to become enthusiastic users of displays. These displays are optimized for the visual properties of young adults ignoring the specific attributes of the vision of the elderly though the existence of differences is evident. It is true, however, that most of the investigations follow a bottomup paradigm (changes of optical density, neural changes, etc.), and their results are too ambiguous to be taken into account directly in display optimization for the elderly, partly because there is a long-term adaptation, which apparently recompensates for some of the changes in the human visual system. Preference is a high-level psychological factor having a very important impact on the acceptability of color displays. The present article follows a top-down methodology to investigate these age-related differences directly. The first part concentrates on functionalities of the human visual system: white point preference, chroma perception, unique, and preferred hues. Results confirm the long-term compensation theory for the elderly observers along with the chromatic content decrease of perceived colors. The second part investigates preference differences in case of photorealistic images in terms of global and local contrast, white point, average chroma, and the effect of several image color manipulation techniques. Results indicate significant differences between young and aged observers' color image preference, some of which can be explained with neuro-physiological changes, others may be attributed to cultural implications.

Chromaticity‐matched but spectrally different light source effects on simple and complex color judgments

“…For contrasts involving the very red poppy field (compared to the fern forest or the fruit bowl), the older participants reported that a relatively higher saturation made the poppy field look correct. This is consistent with the imaging literature . Here too we might have had a stronger result with a larger sample of older participants.…”

Young Children’s Color Preferences in the Interior Environment

“…The complexity of elements in the design of the particular environment greatly influences the individual's color perception. Furthermore, the age of the observer is also of interest because findings from studies indicate that color preference changes with an individual's age (Beke et al 2008;Milne and Greenway 1999;Zentner 2001).…”

Chromatic interior environments for the elderly: A literature review

“…It is found that the results of most of the color studies have been done in laboratory or testing room, or using color samples and simulated images in articles, or computer programs with color samples or other color elements . Nevertheless, few studies have combined the method assessment with an actual setting context in order to evaluate the effects of participants in this context .…”