Exam 9: Perceiving Color

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1. Afterimages: One demonstration of the opponent-process theory is the phenomenon of afterimages. When we stare at a bright color for an extended period of time and then look away, we often see an afterimage of the opposite color. For example, if we stare at a red object and then look away, we may see a green afterimage. This supports the opponent-process theory's idea that color vision is based on opposing pairs of colors, such as red and green.

2. Color adaptation: Another demonstration of the opponent-process theory is color adaptation. When we stare at a colored stimulus for a prolonged period, the receptors for that color become fatigued, and we perceive an afterimage in the complementary color. This demonstrates how our visual system processes colors in opposing pairs, as predicted by the opponent-process theory.

3. Colorblindness: The existence of colorblindness, particularly red-green colorblindness, provides further support for the opponent-process theory. Individuals with red-green colorblindness have difficulty distinguishing between these two colors, which aligns with the opponent-process theory's assertion that red and green are processed as opposing pairs in the visual system.

Overall, these demonstrations provide empirical evidence for the opponent-process theory of color vision, showing how our visual system processes colors in terms of opposing pairs, such as red and green, blue and yellow, and black and white.