Statistical Properties of Gray Color Categorization: Asymptotics of Psychometric Function

Abstract

The results of our experiments on categorical perception of different shades of gray are reported. A special color generator was created for conducting the experiments on categorizing a random sequence of colors into two classes, light-gray and dark-gray. The collected data are analyzed based on constructing (i) the asymptotics of the corresponding psychometric functions and (ii) the mean decision time in categorizing a given shade of gray depending on the shade brightness (shade number). Conclusions about plausible mechanisms governing categorical perception, at least for the analyzed system, are drawn.