Deck 9: Perceiving Color

Question 1

The major theories of color vision were first proposed

A) in the 1800s, based on behavioral evidence only.
B) in the 1930s, based on some psychophysical data and lesioning studies.
C) in the 1960s after Hubel and Wiesel's pioneering research.
D) in the 1990s when technologically advanced brain imaging studies could be conducted.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A monkey with good color vision

A) would have difficulty with figure-ground segregation.
B) would have a better chance of surviving than a color-blind monkey.
C) would be equally able to survive as a color-blind monkey.
D) is impossible; all monkeys are color-blind.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Color matching experiments show that if a person with full color vision is given at least ____ wavelengths to mix together, the person can match any single wavelength.

A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5

Answer 3

B

Question 4

When light is mixed it is referred to as _______

A) an electromagnetic color mixture.
B) an additive color mixture.
C) a subtractive color mixture.
D) a transitive color mixture.

Question 5

The pattern of firing of receptor activity in response to red would be

A) large firing from the S receptor, medium firing from the M receptor, and little firing from the L receptor.
B) large firing from the S receptor, large firing from the M receptor, and little firing from the L receptor.
C) little firing from the S receptor, a moderate firing from the M receptor, and large firing from the L receptor.
D) large firing from the S receptor, large firing from the M receptor, and large firing from the L receptor.

Question 6

The trichromatic theory of color vision states that color perception is due to

A) the pattern of activity in four different receptors.
B) the activity pattern in the occipital, parietal, and temporal cortical lobes.
C) the pattern of activity in three different receptors.
D) processing in layers 1,2, and 3 in the LGN.

Question 7

By changing _______, we can create about a million (or more) discriminable colors.

A) saturation
B) intensity
C) wavelength
D) saturation, intensity, and wavelength

Question 8

When paint is mixed it is referred to as _______

A) a viscous color mixture.
B) an additive color mixture.
C) a subtractive color mixture.
D) a pigmentive color mixture.

Question 9

Yellow and Blue light are projected on a white screen. What color will the screen appear to be?

A) white.
B) gray.
C) green.
D) purple.

Question 10

Blue and yellow paints mixed together yield

A) white.
B) gray.
C) green.
D) purple.

Question 11

The reflectance curve for a purple piece of paper would

A) reflect short wavelengths.
B) reflect long wavelengths only.
C) reflect all wavelengths equally.
D) reflect long and short wavelengths.

Question 12

The signaling function of color can be exemplified by

A) knowing that a banana is ripe when it is yellow.
B) knowing to stop at a red light.
C) both knowing to stop at a red light and knowing banana ripeness.
D) none of these; signaling is not a function of color.

Question 13

The reflectance curve is a plot of the light reflected off a surface as a function of

A) spatial frequency.
B) contrast.
C) wavelength.
D) orientation.

Question 14

The basic colors in the color circle are

A) red, white, blue and green.
B) black, white, and gray.
C) red, green, and blue.
D) red, green, blue and yellow.

Question 15

The reflectance curve for a white piece of paper would

A) reflect mostly short wavelengths, a moderate amount of medium wavelengths, and a little of the long wavelengths.
B) reflect mostly long wavelengths, a small amount of medium wavelengths, and a little of the short wavelengths.
C) reflect a little of short wavelengths, a large amount of medium wavelengths, and a little of the long wavelengths.
D) reflect long, medium and short wavelengths equally.

Question 16

Adding more white to a color changes the color's

A) hue.
B) wavelength.
C) brightness.
D) saturation.

Question 17

The maximum absorption for the short-wavelength cone pigment is at ____ nm.

A) 308
B) 419
C) 531
D) 558

Question 18

The maximum absorption for the long-wavelength cone pigment is at ____ nm.

A) 419
B) 531
C) 558
D) 747

Question 19

Two stimuli that are physically different, but are perceptually identical, are called

A) complements.
B) Rayleigh stimuli.
C) metamers.
D) isomers.

Question 20

The trichromatic theory of color vision is also known as the _________ theory.

A) Seurat-Signac
B) Hering
C) Young-Helmholtz
D) Young-Adhart

Question 21

Uchikawa et al. demonstrated how _________ can explain why color constancy occurs.

A) chromatic adaptation
B) the ratio principle
C) isomerization
D) neural circuitry

Question 22

Which of the following is behavioral support for the "opponent-process theory"?

A) color afterimages
B) color matching
C) visual pigment absorption rates
D) the univariance effect

Question 23

Opponent neurons found in the ______ provide physiological support for the opponent-process theory.

A) retina only
B) LGN only
C) superior colliculus only
D) both the retina and LGN

Question 24

The case of "Mr. I," described in the beginning of the chapter, supports the idea that color is processed in

A) the retina.
B) the LGN.
C) both the retina and LGN.
D) a "color center" in the cortex.

Question 25

Researcher Dorthea Jameson is quoted in the text as saying "A blue bird would not be mistaken for a goldfinch if it were brought indoors." This supports the concept of

A) anomalous trichromacy.
B) neutral point univariance.
C) color constancy.
D) area centralis.

Question 26

A unilateral dichromat

A) has trichromatic vision in one eye and dichromatic vision in the other eye.
B) can only see black, white, and grays.
C) can match any wavelength with three wavelengths in the comparison field, but is not as good as trichromats at discriminating small differences in wavelengths.
D) is more common in the U.S. than protonopes.

Question 27

The principle of ______ helps explain why a person with only one visual pigment can see all wavelengths as the same color (i.e., shade of gray) if light intensity is adjusted appropriately.

A) intensity
B) adjustments
C) univariance
D) unitization

Question 28

The neutral point for protonopes is approximately ___ nm.

A) 405
B) 492
C) 570
D) 690

Question 29

In order to distinguish between wavelengths independent of light intensity, one must have at least ______visual pigment(s).

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) no visual pigments are required.

Question 30

Cerebral achromatopsia is when a person

A) has only one type of cone pigment due to genetic causes.
B) has only two types of cone pigments.
C) has normal cone functioning, but can not experience color due to a brain injury.
D) paradoxically can experience color cortically from stimulation from the rods.

Question 31

Which of the following is phenomenological support for the "opponent-process theory" of color vision?

A) color afterimages
B) visualizing color combinations
C) simultaneous color contrast
D) all of these

Question 32

Nora adapts to a yellow stimulus for about 30 seconds. She will then see an afterimage that appears to be

A) a saturated yellow.
B) green.
C) blue.
D) red.

Question 33

Which of the following was NOT an opponent mechanism proposed by Hering?

A) Black (-); White (+)
B) Red (+); Green (-)
C) Blue (+); Green (-)
D) Blue (-); Yellow (+)

Question 34

The wavelength distributions from a light bulb and from sunlight are

A) exactly the same.
B) different, with the light bulb distribution having much higher amounts of energy at long wavelengths.
C) different, with the light bulb distribution having much higher amounts of energy at short wavelengths.
D) different, with the sunlight distribution having much higher amounts of energy at long wavelengths.

Question 35

Dr. Lanzilotti wants to create a stimulus that will produce an afterimage of a red heart shape against a white background. He should make the heart ______ and the background _______.

A) red; green
B) green; black
C) blue; white
D) pink; red

Question 36

Physiological evidence shows that deuteranopes do not have the _____ wavelength cone pigment.

A) short
B) medium
C) long
D) short and long

Question 37

Which of the following statements is TRUE about dichromatism?

A) Males are more likely to be dichromats than females.
B) Experience, not genetics, is the major cause of dichromacy.
C) There are six major forms of dichromacy.
D) There are nine major forms of dichromacy.

Question 38

A monochromat experiences

A) black, white, and grays.
B) black, grays, and greens.
C) different shades of red.
D) different shades of blue.

Question 39

The rarest form of dichromatism is

A) deuteranopia.
B) protanopia.
C) tritanopia.
D) fruitopia.

Question 40

Which statement below best describes the current consensus on the theories of color vision?

A) The physiological support for the trichromatic theory is greater than the support for the opponent-process theory.
B) The physiological evidence for the opponent-process theory has shown that the trichromatic theory is incorrect.
C) The psychophysical evidence for the trichromatic theory has shown that the opponent-process theory is incorrect.
D) The physiology of the cone receptors and the discovery of opponent cells in the retina and LGN show that both theories are correct.

Question 41

Bornstein et al. habituated a four-month-old infants to a 510 nm ("green") stimulus, then presented a 480nm ("blue") stimulus or a 540nm ("green") stimulus. The infants in this study dishabituated to

A) the 480 nm stimulus.
B) the 540 nm stimulus.
C) both of the 480nm and 540nm stimulus.
D) neither the 480 nm nor the 540 nm stimulus.

Question 42

Discuss the methods and results of Uchikawa et al.'s (1989) research on chromatic adaptation and color constancy.

Question 43

The edge between a dark shadow and an illuminated checkerboard is a(n)

A) reflectance edge.
B) illumination edge.
C) ratio edge.
D) Ishihara border.

Question 44

Ikya looks at a white surface under sunlight conditions and she perceives it to be white. When she looks at the white surface under a tungsten light, it looks ______ to her.

A) reddish
B) yellowish
C) white
D) violet

Question 45

Mark enters a supermarket that is lit by red lights. After fifteen minutes he enters the produce section and finds some red apples to purchase. Mark is able to see these apples as red because he has undergone

A) chromatic adaptation.
B) re-adaption.
C) isomerization.
D) corticalization.

Question 46

Which of the following is a finding that demonstrates the phenomenon of memory color?

A) Participants recall words printed in red ink better than words printed in black ink.
B) Participants can quickly identify the word "Blue" if printed in blue ink.
C) Participants have difficulty reporting ink color if the word is the name of a color different than the ink color.
D) Participants perceive a 620-nm pattern as being "redder" if that pattern has the shape of a stop sign rather than a mushroom shape.

Question 47

If you look at a folded index card though a pinhole, you see the border as a(n) ________ because the card looks _______.

A) illumination edge; flat
B) illumination edge; 3-D
C) reflectance edge; flat
D) reflectance edge; 3-D

Question 48

Honeybees have a cone pigment that maximally absorbs _____ wavelengths.

A) short
B) medium
C) long
D) None of the above; visible light for honeybees and humans are the same range of wavelengths.

Question 49

Color constancy works best when

A) surrounding colors are masked.
B) chromatic adaptation occurs.
C) a color object is surrounded by one other color.
D) a color object is surrounded by many different colors.

Question 50

Explain (with examples) the difference between additive color mixture and subtractive color mixture.

Question 51

Newton's quote of "The Rays …are not colored" means that

A) we can determine the accuracy of color perception by measuring the wavelength of the light.
B) colors are created by our perceptual system.
C) the experience of color is not arbitrary.
D) a 450 nm pattern will look the identical shade of blue to all human trichromats.

Question 52

(a) What is the difference between an illumination edge and a reflectance edge?
(b) Discuss what the "penumbra" demonstration and the "folded card" demonstration reveal about perception of these types of edges.

Question 53

If you cover the penumbra with a black marker, the perception of the border

A) remains constant.
B) changes from an illumination edge to a reflectance edge.
C) changes from a reflectance edge to an illumination edge.
D) can be predicted from the ratio principle.

Question 54

According to the ratio principle

A) lightness constancy will occur as long as the ratio of light reflected from a white surface and a black surface remain constant.
B) lightness constancy will occur if the ratio of light reflected from a white surface and a black surface increases as the overall light intensity increases.
C) lightness constancy will occur if the ratio of light reflected from a white surface and a black surface decreases as the overall light intensity increases.
D) lightness constancy can never occur.

Question 55

Evaluate Newton's claim that the light "rays …are not coloured."

Question 56

Contrast the three types of dichromatism, in regard to rates, neutral points, color experience, and proposed physiological cause.

Question 57

Does retinal physiology support the trichromatic theory, opponent-processing theory, or both? Support your answer.

Question 58

Describe three demonstrations that support the opponent-process theory of color vision.