PSYC 303 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Rhodopsin, Cerebral Achromatopsia, Cultural Relativism
14 Apr 2017
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Document Summary
Color itself is not a physical property of things in the world. Humans see a narrow range of the electromagnetic spectrum between the wavelengths of about 400 and. Apparent color of something is correlated with the wavelengths of the light rays reaching the eye from that bit of the world. Most of the light we see is reflected light. Light sources emit a broad spectrum of wavelengths that hit surfaces in the world around us. Some wavelengths are absorbed by the surfaces they hit. Wavelengths that are reflected hit our eye. Specific wavelengths of light are not specific colors. Color is the result of the interaction of a physical stimulus with a particular nervous system. The cones differ in the photopigment they carry. They differ in their sensitivity to light of different wavelengths. S-cones: a cone that is preferentially sensitive to short wavelengths: peak at 420nm, blue cone.
