Differences in Color Balance Depending upon Mode of Comparison

Previous research on color balance has shown that small areas of high-chroma (saturation) colors appear balanced when paired with larger areas of low-chroma colors, a finding that is consistent with Munsell's (1905) ideas on color harmony. In these previous experiments, subjects were asked to adjust the relative areas of color pairs that had fixed chromas until the stimuli appeared balanced. In the present study, subjects were additionally asked to adjust the chromas of colors in fixed areas. The three experiments in which area was adjusted replicated previous findings that corresponded to Munsell's rule. Surprisingly, however, when the chroma was varied, subjects set higher chromas in the larger areas-exactly the opposite of Munsell's rule. The fact that a color of larger area required a higher chroma to balance a lower chroma color of smaller area when chroma was adjusted is attributed to simultaneous or successive color contrast effects.