Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

Visualizing Visual Adaptation
Published on: April 24, 2017
Infant color vision and color preferences: a tribute to Davida Teller
Angela M Brown1, Delwin T Lindsey2
1College of Optometry, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Abstract:
Almost 40 years ago, Davida Teller developed the forced-choice preferential looking method for studying infant visual capabilities and used it to study infant color vision. About 10 years ago, she used infant looking preferences to study infant color perception. Here, we examine four data sets in which the infant looking preference was measured using a wide range of saturated colors. Three of those data sets, from papers by Marc Bornstein and by Davida Teller and Anna Franklin and their respective collaborators, were fit successfully using MacLeod and Boynton's model of the equiluminant plane in color space, in spite of the varied luminances used in those studies. A fourth data set, from a paper by Zemach, Chang, and Teller, was less well fit by that model. Apparently, infants are able to ignore luminance, and pay attention just to the color of stimuli. These results are discussed in the context of Davida Teller's work on the philosophy of vision science.
Related Concept Videos
Color Vision
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways
Changes in Skin Color: Clinical Perspectives
Albinism
Albinism is a genetic disorder that affects (completely or partially) the coloring of skin, hair, and eyes. The defect is primarily...
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
Vision
Introduction to Special Senses

