Di Lollo, V. and Bischof, W. F. (1995). The inverse intensity effect in duration of visible persistence. Psychological Bulletin, 118, 223-237.

Duration of visible persistence can vary inversely with intensity of stimulation. The empirical evidence indicates that such an inverse-intensity effect can be obtained both by varying the intensity of the stimuli or of the background, provided that the intensity variations extend into the mesopic range. A similar relationship -- known as the Ferry-Porter law -- holds for the critical frequency at fusion (CFF). We propose that the results obtained in studies of CFF, two-pulse threshold, and visible persistence, can be encompassed within a single conceptual framework in which the inverse-intensity effect is modeled by the progressive reduction in the temporal extent of the positive phase of the system's response as the level of light adaptation changes from scotopic to photopic. In this context, we present an integrative scheme in which Sperling and Sondhi's (1968) formal model and Coltheart's (1980) neurophysiological conjecture are shown to be compatible and complementary accounts of the inverse-intensity effect.

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