Which mental process primarily allows you to perceive a lemon as yellow?

• A. The stimulation of rod cells responsible for low-light vision
• B. The processing of olfactory signals in the temporal lobe
• C. The activation of cone cells sensitive to medium and long wavelengths in the retina
• D. The encoding of auditory frequencies by hair cells in the cochlea

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the sensory modality involved in perceiving the color of an object, which in this case is vision.
2. Understand that the retina in the eye contains two main types of photoreceptor cells: rods and cones. Rods are responsible for vision in low light, while cones are responsible for color vision.
3. Recognize that cones are sensitive to different wavelengths of light, corresponding to different colors. Medium and long wavelengths correspond to green and red light, which combine to help perceive yellow.
4. Recall that the perception of yellow occurs when cone cells sensitive to medium (green) and long (red) wavelengths are activated simultaneously.
5. Conclude that the mental process allowing you to perceive a lemon as yellow is the activation of cone cells sensitive to medium and long wavelengths in the retina.