What does the opponent-process theory propose about color vision?

The opponent-process theory posits that color vision is based on the activity of opposing neural processes. It suggests that our perception of color is controlled by three opposing pairs of colors: red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white. This means that the stimulation of one color in a pair inhibits the perception of the other color in that same pair.

The correct answer relates to how receptors operate along this bipolar continuum of color pairs, rather than the simplistic notion of individual colors acting independently. In this framework, colors are perceived in relation to their opposites, leading to the unique phenomenon of afterimages – where staring at one color for a long time can result in perceiving the opposite color when looking away.

This understanding is key to explaining how our visual system processes colors in a way that is decisively more complex than the basic response of cones to light wavelengths or singular color activation. The other options do not encapsulate the essence of the opponent-process theory, which is fundamentally about the interaction of opposing color pairs rather than the independent or purely learned perception of colors.