Third, the mere perception of color evokes
evaluative processes. Color computations occur at an early level
within the visual system, and evaluative processes are so fundamental
that they are present, at least in rudimentary form, in
all animate life (Schneirla, 1959). By ‘‘evaluative processes’’ we
mean basic mechanisms that discern whether a stimulus is hostile or hospitable (Elliot & Covington, 2001).