A common misconception is that color refers only to a

Question

A common misconception is that color refers only to a wavelength of light in the visual spectrum, from about 400 nanometers (violet) to about 700 nanometers (red). When an object reflects light of a given wavelength, we see that object as the corresponding color. So, for example, we might see a Braebum apple as red and a Granny Smith apple as green because they reflect light of different wavelengths. However, color is not merely a property of an external physical object but rather the result of an interaction among that object, the light that shines on it, and, finally but most significantly, the manner in which the human eye and brain make sense of the reflected light stimulus. Thus, the study of color can properly fall as much within the realm of psychology as that of physics.

Experience is one psychological factor that informs our perception of color. For example, a child eating by a campfire that emits a great deal of yellow light may believe that the melted Cheddar cheese served on white bread on a white paper plate is actually a white cheese like Swiss or Monterey jack. This occurs because the yellow light reflects off both the plate and the bread, which the child knows are white, and off the cheese, which the child isn't sure about. All the objects therefore appear to be the same color, and the child assumes that color is white. On the other hand, an adult with experience viewing things in firelight would intuitively adjust her perception to account for the yellow light and would not make the same mistake.

Color is also perceived differently depending on its context. The noted abstract painter Josef Albers produced an influential body of work based on this phenomenon, including his series Homage to the Square featuring nested squares of different colors. In one psychological experiment testing perception, the letter Xis presented against two colored backgrounds. Although the letter is identical each time it is presented, it appears olive green in one context and lavender in the other context. This effect is achieved when the X is given a low-saturation blue color, or gray-blue, and the backgrounds are also low-saturation colors with hues on either side of blue on the color wheel. Because blue falls between purple and green on the color wheel, a gray-blue X against a gray-purple background will look gray-green, or olive, and the same X against an olive background will look gray-purple, or lavender. In a similar manner, an intermediate color will look different against different primary color backdrops; teal, for instance, will look green against a blue background and blue against a green background.

Other subjective factors also influence the experience of color. These include cultural norms (Westerners most often name blue as their favorite color, whereas in China red is preferred) and simply what we learn about color. Consider that if a child learns that stop signs are "red," the child will call them "red." Another person in that society will also have learned to call stop signs "red." However, whether the two people are experiencing the same color is unknown since that experience exists only in the mind. Therefore, if one were to tell an interior designer that color is an immutable physical property of objects, one would meet with skepticism. Before placing the electric blue sofa in a client's living room, the designer considers the color of light the various light fixtures will emanate, the colors of the carpet and walls, and her client's feelings about electric blue, which after all may not even be the same color in the client's mind as it is in the designer's.   1 
 B 
 1) Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?

A) Color is primarily a psychological construct, and therefore the study of physics is not relevant to an understanding of how color is perceived. 
B) The phenomenon of color is a combined effect of the wavelength of light that shines on an object, the wavelength of light reflected by the object, and the human mind's perception of the light stimulus that comes to the eye. 
C) Scientists have determined that although people may perceive color differently in different situations, color is an immutable characteristic of objects. 
D) Creative professionals, such as artists and interior designers, view color significantly differently than do scientists. 
E) To say that an object is a particular color is meaningless because color is a subjective perception influenced by experience, culture, and context and cannot therefore be ascertained to be a specific physical characteristic.

2 
 A 
 2) The author would be most likely to agree with which of the following ideas?

A) When attempting to achieve a particular aesthetic effect, a graphic designer should consider how the color used for the border of an advertisement will appear next to the color of the text. 
B) A decorator working for a client in China would not purchase an electric blue sofa for that individual's living room, because blue is not a preferred color in China.
C) Companies designing packaging for their products should avoid using gray tones because these would cause different customers to see the colors differently, thereby rendering the brand message inconsistent. 
D) Because red is a primary color, a wall should not be painted red if a sofa of an intermediate color will be placed against it, as the sofa's color may be distorted by its proximity to the wall. 
E) Artists often explore the interaction of adjacent colors when juxtaposing different forms in the composition of their paintings.

3 
 E 
 3) The author mentions Josef Albers in paragraph 3 in order to

A) argue that artists are aware of how humans perceive color and use this phenomenon to enhance the impact of their work. 
B) illustrate the idea that color is fundamentally a subjective, aesthetic phenomenon rather than a scientific one. 
C) demonstrate that a child would probably see a painting in the  Homage to the Square  series differently than would an adult. 
D) explain that humans perceive the color of regular shapes, such as squares, differently than they perceive the color of less regular shapes, such as food on a plate or a letter of the alphabet. 
E) provide an example that reinforces the importance of the concept that color is a subjective experience manufactured in part within the human mind

Cinematiccuisine · Accepted Answer

Hi swati793 and Ratnaa19 To understand why option E is not the correct one --> let's look at the para 3 first and then interpret the question. Para 3: Interpretation: a) Author starts the para stating : Color is also perceived differently depending on its context. b) Then author presents an example of Josef Albers who is an abstract painter. if we just consider meaning of the word 'abstract' - it is something that is not concrete OR planned OR not directed towards a particular message or feeling or an outcome. It's random. c) Then author further talks about interpretation of a color when it falls in range of two other colors. d) author gives very clear example of a designer and a customer. how a designer can feel a color VS how the customer may feel the color (e.g. electric blue). Now if we take a look at the question again, 2. The author would be most likely to agree with which of the following ideas? option E: Artists often explore the interaction of adjacent colors when juxtaposing different forms in the composition of their paintings. My explanation: Author is not making a generalized statement that ALL OR MOST OF THE artists usually compose their paintings by considering interaction of colors when they are juxtaposed. This will be TOO GENERIC statement. as per para 3 interpretation --> author just have 1 example of Mr. J.A. Hence this option can be eliminated. Also, the option can be interpreted that all the artists want to convey some meaning/message by exploring the interaction of adjacently placed colors. But this is not mentioned anywhere in the para. Author gave example of artist who draws 'abstract' paintings which are not necesarily intentional. Considering this -- we can rule out E. If we go back to option A: A) When attempting to achieve a particular aesthetic effect, a graphic designer should consider how the color used for the border of an advertisement will appear next to the color of the text. This clearly aligns with what author mentioned in the para 3 --> point d in my summary. Since the question is asking what will author MOST LIKLY AGREE with --> we can ignore E as it's too generalized statement and not necessarily mentioned in the para. But Option A is definitely mentioned in the Para. so we can safely say option A is the answer. I hope this helps. --- Please give kudos even if you disagree

shubham2312 · Answer

it took me almost 8 mins
no doubt reading this RC was a task
but questions were pretty easy and straightforward

1:)
main point question, only option B and E were in contention, we can reject E on the basis
 color is not merely a property of an external physical object but rather the result of an interaction among that object, the light that shines on it, and, finally but most significantly, the manner in which the human eye and brain make sense of the reflected light stimulus.

2:)clearly A, we can reject all other options through POE

3:)only option E goes with the line of thinking of the RC

Ratnaa19 · Answer

Can someone please elaborate answer 2 !!

swati793 · Answer

2.
E) Artists often explore the interaction of adjacent colors when juxtaposing different forms in the composition of their paintings.
How to eliminate E. E is very close to A

A) When attempting to achieve a particular aesthetic effect, a graphic designer should consider how the color used for the border of an advertisement will appear next to the color of the text

abhishekdadarwal2009 · Answer

1) Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?

A) Color is primarily a psychological construct, and therefore the study of physics is not relevant to an understanding of how color is perceived. 
B)  The phenomenon of color is a combined effect of the wavelength of light that shines on an object, the wavelength of light reflected by the object, and the human mind's perception of the light stimulus that comes to the eye. 
 
C) Scientists have determined that although people may perceive color differently in different situations, color is an immutable characteristic of objects. 
D) Creative professionals, such as artists and interior designers, view color significantly differently than do scientists. 
E) To say that an object is a particular color is meaningless because color is a subjective perception influenced by experience, culture, and context and cannot therefore be ascertained to be a specific physical characteristic.

The first paragraph explains the main idea of the passage very well and the following paragraphs are only explaining the same point with different prespectives and different examples.

2) The author would be most likely to agree with which of the following ideas?

A) When attempting to achieve a particular aesthetic effect, a graphic designer should consider how the color used for the border of an advertisement will appear next to the color of the text.  
B) A decorator working for a client in China would not purchase an electric blue sofa for that individual's living room, because blue is not a preferred color in China.
C) Companies designing packaging for their products should avoid using gray tones because these would cause different customers to see the colors differently, thereby rendering the brand message inconsistent. 
D) Because red is a primary color, a wall should not be painted red if a sofa of an intermediate color will be placed against it, as the sofa's color may be distorted by its proximity to the wall. 
E) Artists often explore the interaction of adjacent colors when juxtaposing different forms in the composition of their paintings.

Option 1 matches with the ideology presented by the author in the passge with a very similar example of the paintings, toher options in the questions are very bold or specific ,which could be missleading or could be trap answers.

4) The author mentions Josef Albers in paragraph 3 in order to

A) argue that artists are aware of how humans perceive color and use this phenomenon to enhance the impact of their work. 
B) illustrate the idea that color is fundamentally a subjective, aesthetic phenomenon rather than a scientific one. 
C) demonstrate that a child would probably see a painting in the Homage to the Square series differently than would an adult. 
D) explain that humans perceive the color of regular shapes, such as squares, differently than they perceive the color of less regular shapes, such as food on a plate or a letter of the alphabet. 
 E) provide an example that reinforces the importance of the concept that color is a subjective experience manufactured in part within the human mind. 
 
Although this is question 3, the question is posted as 4.
Option E is a general answer to the question and avoids the traps presented by other options such as shapes, preceptions of child and adult, and awareness of artists and provides appropriate explaination.

jawele · Answer

Passage summary:
1) Colour is not simply a reflection of a wavelength of light. It is subjective experience that depends on both psychological and physical properties.
2) Explains how a colour can be interpreted differently because of subjective experience and understanding
3) Explains how a colour may be perceived differently because of overall background details
4) The author claims that the perception of colour depends even on cultural norms and that one can't be sure whether two people experience the same colour even though they may agree on it

1) Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage? 
A) Color is  primarily  a psychological construct, and therefore the study of  physics is not relevant to an understanding of how color  is perceived. 
B) The phenomenon of color is a combined effect of the wavelength of light that shines on an object, the wavelength of light reflected by the object, and the human mind's perception of the light stimulus that comes to the eye.  correct 
C) Scientists have determined that although people may perceive color differently in different situations,  color is an immutable characteristic of objects . 
D) Creative professionals, such as artists and interior designers, view color significantly differently than do scientists.  a stretch and too narrow in scope 
E) To say that an object  is a particular color is meaningless  because color is a subjective perception influenced by experience, culture, and context and cannot therefore be ascertained to be a specific physical characteristic.

2) The author would be most likely to agree with which of the following ideas? 
A) When attempting to achieve a particular aesthetic effect, a graphic designer should consider how the color used for the border of an advertisement will appear next to the color of the text. 
B) A decorator working for a client in China would not purchase an electric blue sofa for that individual's living room, because blue is not a preferred color in China.  the author doesn't say that virtually all objects must be in red, why not a blue bed? 
C) Companies designing packaging for their products should avoid using gray tones because these would cause different customers to see the colors differently, thereby  rendering the brand message inconsistent .  picked C - not sure why it's wrong, but it may be because of that underlined part: sort of introducing a new idea. Gray pallet confusion is discussed in para 3 and so seems legit 
D) Because  red is a primary color , a wall should not be painted red if a sofa of an intermediate color will be placed against it, as the sofa's color may be distorted by its proximity to the wall.  it's said that the colour is popular in China, and so this is too general 
E)  Artists often explore  the interaction of adjacent colors when juxtaposing different forms in the composition of their paintings.  we're not given such information that they do

3) The author mentions Josef Albers in paragraph 3 in order to  Relevant text: Color is also  perceived differently depending on its context . The noted abstract painter Josef Albers produced an influential  body of work based on this phenomenon , including his series Homage to the Square featuring nested squares of different colors. 
A)  argue  that artists are aware of how humans perceive color and use this phenomenon to enhance the impact of their work.  nowhere does the author argue about this 
B) illustrate the idea that color is  fundamentally a subjective , aesthetic phenomenon  rather than a scientific one .  but in that para the author discusses that some physical parameters can impact the perception of colour 
C)  demonstrate  that a child would probably see a painting in the Homage to the Square series differently than would an adult.  the mention serves more than just a demonstration 
D) explain that humans perceive the color of regular shapes, such as squares, differently than they perceive the color of less regular shapes, such as food on a plate or a letter of the alphabet.  not relevant distinction 
E) provide an  example  that reinforces the importance of the  concept that color is a subjective  experience manufactured in part within the human mind.  correct

mallya12 · Answer

GMATNinja ,  workout ,  GMATNinjaTwo ,  u1983 ,  SajjadAhmad ,  Gnpth

FOR q2 I choose D."In a similar manner, an intermediate color will look different against different primary color backdrops;"
Can you please explain why A is right and other statements are wrong?

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

A common misconception is that color refers only to a

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

A common misconception is that color refers only to a

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards