Perceiving Colour

These flashcards focus on vocabulary related to color perception, theories of color vision, and its psychological and physiological implications.

Color Emotion Guide

A tool that explains the emotional associations and meanings connected with various colors.

Hue

The attribute of a color that allows it to be classified as red, blue, green, etc.

Saturation

The vividness or purity of a color; how much gray is mixed with the color.

Value

The lightness or darkness of a color.

Wavelength Discrimination

The ability to distinguish between different wavelengths of light.

Trichromatic Theory of Colour Vision

Theory proposing that three types of cones in the retina respond to three different wavelengths of light (short, medium, long).

Opponent-Process Theory of Colour Vision

Theory that suggests color perception is controlled by opposing pairs of colors (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white).

Cerebral Achromatopsia

A condition in which individuals cannot perceive color due to damage in certain areas of the brain.

Metamers

Colors that appear the same to the eye but are made up of different wavelengths.

Chromatic Adaptation

The process in which the visual system adjusts to changes in illumination, helping maintain color perception.

Lightness Constancy

The ability to perceive the reflectance of surfaces as constant across varying light conditions.

Reflectance Edges

Edges that result from a change in the reflectance of surfaces.

Illumination Edges

Edges that result from a change in illumination on the same surface.

Neutral Point

The wavelength at which an individual with color deficiency perceives no color difference.

Dichromats

People who have only two types of functioning cones and thus may see fewer colors.

Protanopia

A type of color deficiency where the red-sensitive cones are absent, resulting in inability to distinguish red from green.

Deuteranopia

A type of color deficiency where the green-sensitive cones are absent.

Tritanopia

A rare type of color blindness characterized by absent blue-sensitive cones.

Additive Colour Mixing

Mixing colors of light where the wavelengths combine to produce new perceived colors.

Subtractive Colour Mixing

Mixing of pigments where the hues subtract wavelengths from light reflected off surfaces.

Visible Light

The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye, approximately 400-700 nm.