Final answer:
The trichromatic theory of color vision explains that the eye contains three types of cones, sensitive to red, green, and blue light, which when combined, enable us to perceive a wide range of colors. It operates at the level of the retina and is different from the opponent-process theory that applies to post-retinal color vision processing.
Step-by-step explanation:
The trichromatic theory of color vision states that the human eye has three types of cones in the retina, which are sensitive to three primary colors: red, blue, and green. When these cones are stimulated together, they allow us to perceive the full spectrum of colors. Developed by researchers such as Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz, the trichromatic theory explains how the different wavelengths of light are processed by the cones to create our color perception at the retinal level.
Understanding Color Vision
- Normal-sighted individuals have three different types of cones that mediate color vision, with each cone type being maximally sensitive to a slightly different wavelength of light. Combining the responses from red, green, and blue cones allows us to see all the hues in the visible spectrum. This is separate from the opponent-process theory of color vision which describes how visual information is processed beyond the retina, as signals are coded in opposing pairs like black-white and yellow-blue, explaining phenomena such as negative afterimages.