Problem: Based on this information from the textbook. How did Hering explain space perception? Write in simple terms. Need Assignment Help?
Space Perception and Color Vision
On the matter of space perception, we have seen that Helmholtz believed that it slowly develops from experience as physiological and psychological events are correlated. Hering. However, believed that, when stimulated, each point on the retina automatically provides three types of information about the stimulus: height, left-right position, and depth. Following Kant, Hering believed that space perception exists a priori. For Kant, space perception was an inmate category of the mind; for Hering, it was an inmate characteristic of the eye. This controversy about perception became the Helmholtz-Hering debate, and in various guises continues even today.
After working on the problem of space perception for about 10 years, Hering turned to color vision. Hering observed a number of phenomena that he believed either were incompatible with the Young-Helmholtz theory or could not be explained by it. He noted that certain pairs of colors, when mixed together, give the sensation of gray. This was true for red and green, blue and yellow, and black and white. He also observed that a person who stares at red and then looks away experiences a green afterimage: similarly, blue gives a yellow afterimage. Hering also noted that individuals who have difficulty distinguishing red from green could still see yellow: also, it is typical for a color-blind person to lose the sensation of both red and Freen, not just one or the other. All these observations at least posed problems for the Young- Helmholtz theory, if they did not contradict it.
To account for these phenomena, Hering theorized that there are three types of receptors on the retina but that each could respond in two ways. One type of receptor responds to red- Freen, one type to yellow-blue, and one type to black-white. Red, yellow, and white cause a "tearing down," or a catabolic process, in their respective receptors. Green, blue, and black cause a "building up." or an anabolic process, in their respective receptors. [If both colors to which a receptor is sensitive are experienced simultaneously, the catabolic and anabolic processes are canceled out, and the sensation of gray results. If one color to which a receptor is sensitive is experienced, its corresponding process is depleted, leaving only its opposite to produce an afterimage. Finally. Hering's theory explained why individuals who cannot respond to red or green can still see yellow and why the inability to see red is usually accompanied by an inability to see green.