White text on a black background provides higher visual contrast than black on white for specific visual conditions
Evidence regarding whether white text on a black background provides superior visual contrast and performance is mixed, with some studies showing benefits for dark modes while others favor light modes or find highly individualized results.
The claim specifies that white text on a black background (negative contrast polarity) provides higher visual contrast for specific conditions. The retrieved papers show mixed findings: some highlight benefits or preferences for dark mode (e.g., papers 1 and 9), whereas others find that positive polarity (black text on white) yields better reading speed, performance, or visual recognition (papers 4 and 11), or that performance varies strictly on an individual basis (paper 0). Because the literature demonstrates conflicting results and depends heavily on task context and individual differences, the claim is best classified as CONTESTED.
Hoseini-Yazdi H, Carkeet A, Ahmed R, Ali F, Anderson J, Chan ZY, Chng J, Nand N, Pham A, Soen H, Su L, Truong M, Read SA. Relative Role of ON/OFF Pathways in Resolving and Adapting to Blur in Myopes and Emmetropes.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.9.29
Paper [1] found that overstimulating the ON pathway (brighter letters than background) reduced blur-induced visual acuity loss compared to the OFF pathway.
Zack While, Ali Sarvghad. Dark Mode or Light Mode? Exploring the Impact of Contrast Polarity on Visualization Performance Between Age Groups. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1109/VIS55277.2024.00050
Paper [0] concluded that individual performance with light and dark modes varied widely and did not consistently favor one polarity.
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Nguyen Minh Tuan, Trần Thị Lan, Pham Duc Hieu. Dark Mode vs Light Mode: Impact on User Experience and Visual Comfort in Mobile Applications. 2026. https://doi.org/10.59431/jms.v4i1.711
Paper [9] found that a majority of users preferred dark mode due to increased visual comfort and decreased eye strain.
Nurulain Muhamad, N. Mokhtar. The Effect of Display Polarity on Reading Speed and Reading Error Among Young Adults. 2024. https://doi.org/10.31584/jhsmr.20241095
Paper [4] found that negative polarity (dark background) yielded higher reading speeds compared to positive polarity.
Robert Luzsa, Susanne Mayr. The polarity effect in virtual and video see-through mixed reality—better proofreading performance and faster optotype identification with positive display polarity. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2025.2457470
Paper [11] found that positive polarity (dark text on a light background) enabled faster text reading and stimulus recognition.
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