What is the contrast principle?

The contrast principle

The contrast effect, which governs human eyesight, affects how we perceive distinctions between things that come one after another. Simply put, we perceive the second object as being more distinct than it is; if it is slightly different from the first. Lifting a heavy object after lifting a light one will cause us to perceive the second object as slightly heavy than it would have been if we had not tried the light one first.

What is the contrast principle?

A contrast effect is an enhancement or diminishment, relative to the normal, of perception, cognition, or related performance because of successive or simultaneous exposure to a stimulus of lesser or greater value in the same dimension.

This principle is an unconscious bias that happens when two things are in comparison to one another instead of being assessed individually. Our perception becomes altered once we start to compare one to another. We tend to judge them relative to each other rather than on their own merit.

The contrast principle is well established in psychophysics and applies to all sorts of perceptions besides weight.

Types of contrasts

Simultaneous contrast

When two things are set side by side, it creates a simultaneous contrast. When two of the same cars come into comparison, that is an example of simultaneous contrast. One has the most fundamental features, while the other has more sophisticated features.

Comparing a Toyota to a Lexus because they are from the same company is an extreme example of the simultaneous contrast effect. Comparing two Toyotas of the same model type, one of which is a more luxurious model than the other, would be a less extreme example.

The extent to which simultaneous contrast is a physiological process brought on by the connections of neurons in the visual cortex or whether it is a psychological consequence has been the subject of some discussion. Both have an impact.

Successive contrast

When previously observed stimuli influence how currently viewed stimuli are perceived, it is a successive contrast. When a picture leaves an afterimage, this is a successful contrast. For instance, gazing at purple for a few seconds can cause a green afterimage (5-10 seconds). Spending the same length of time staring at purple image results in a green image. Because the afterimages come one after the other, it is successive contrast.

Metacontrast and Para contrast

Metacontrast involves contrasting members of In-groups with Out-groups. An In-group is usually a collection of friends or coworkers who share similar objectives and interests. A group that takes the blame as the In-group rival is known as an Out-group. A person who is part of an In-group who wants their country to win the World cup is an example of an In-group. A different nation or all the rival nations would be considered an outgroup. The World cup In-group would notice many similarities between itself and other group members in a metacontrast. Additionally, in metacontrast, the In-group would see the World cup outgroup as having more contrast. The stark cultural disparity between the In-group and the outgroup may be the cause of this contrast.

The purpose of paracontrast is to mask the initial stimulus. When something is shown to someone successively, that person may view it as having a different quality from the previous object. For instance, someone will feel perceptual contrast if they have dinner at a fancy restaurant one night and junk food the next. The difference in perceived quality between the fast food and the fancy dining experiences the previous night is that the fast food appears to be lower in quality--significantly.

Behavioral Contrast

Behavioral contrast is related to the type of reinforcer offered for the behavior. One can consider a hypothetical situation when driving too fast on the freeway. Two sorts of punishment are capable of changing behavior. One type of punishment is positive punishment, in which the victim receives something, and the other is negative punishment, in which the victim loses something. On the freeway, a lot of drivers speed. A speeding ticket is a result of speeding as a positive punishment. If it were a negative punishment, the offender might be given a timeout for a few hours on the side of the road without access to a phone or any other kind of communication or amusement. In these two instances, the behavior contrast may be more compliant due to the social embarrassment of explaining what happened to friends for the speeding timeout. Because a speeding ticket positive consequence is less harsh, driving under the speed limit would receive less behavioral compliance under the existing system.

How can it be used?

The utility of the contrast principle is plenty to mention and beyond the scope of this blog, but it is in use in sales, marketing, psychology, you name it.

For instance, we may be less satisfied with the physical attractiveness of our own lovers because of the way social media bombard us with examples of unrealistically attractive models. We are likely to rate a girl less attractive if we initially skimmed through the latest vogue magazine.

If we take the real estate business, the salesperson can take you to a set of houses that are very depressing to eventually take you to the one he wants to sell you to make the house look better than it really is.

Clothing shops usually do the reverse; for example, if one was to buy a suit, the salesperson knows it is better to sell you the costly item first. After the expensive purchase, when it comes time to look at sweaters, even the expensive ones will seem lower in comparison.

Story

A child came home nervous one afternoon to find his mom and dad talking in the kitchen. The mom noticed the face of her child and asked what was wrong. The child explains that while playing around in the lab, he accidentally set the lab on fire which spread and eventually burned down the lab, causing a 3rd-degree burn in 5 kids and some minor ones in others. The school caught on to who did it and expelled him from school. On his way from school, a friend of one of the kids that acquired a severe burn, started a fight with him. While fighting, he forcefully pushed the kid to the ground; on his way down, the boy hit a big stone and died. His mom and dad gazed at him, shocked by what they were hearing. He then added that all these things didn’t happen and what really happened was that he flanked in his math and chemistry grades, and he wanted them to see those grades from the proper perspectives.




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