Introduction

This article provides an in-depth exploration of the concepts of sensation and

perception, which are fundamental to our understanding of how we experience and
interact with the world around us. It delves into the differences between sensation
and perception, explaining how sensory receptors gather information from the
environment (sensation) and how the brain then interprets and organizes this
information (perception).

The article also covers important topics such as sensory adaptation, depth
perception, monocular and binocular depth cues, and perceptual constancies. By the
end of this comprehensive overview, readers will have a solid grasp of the complex
processes underlying our sensory experiences and perceptions of the world.
Sensation and perception

We use sensation and perception to understand the world around us. Without our
senses, and the way we understand those senses (perception), we would be
unable to interact with the world.

Sensation and perception are two separate processes that are very closely
related. Sensation is input about the physical world obtained by our sensory
receptors, and perception is the process by which the brain selects, organizes,
and interprets these sensations. In other words, senses are the physiological
basis of perception. Perception of the same senses may vary from one person to
another because each person’s brain interprets stimuli differently based on that
individual’s learning, memory, emotions, and expectations.

■What is Sensation?

What does it mean to sense something? Sensory receptors are specialized neurons
that respond to specific types of stimuli. When sensory information is detected by a
sensory receptor, sensation has occurred..

• Sensation refers to the process of receiving information from the environment

through sense organs (eyes ,ears, skins, and nose )and send it to the brain for
further processing.

• It is the raw data gathering from our environment.

• In other ways it is the process of by which an organism sense organ respond to a

stimuli.

• A stimulus is a detectable input from the environment. It is a source of physical

energy that activates sense organs.

• The process of changing physical energy to electrical activates in the neurons

using sense receptors İs called transduction.

• How do you feel Temperature taste, Movement, etc. ?

For example: light that enters the eye causes chemical changes in cells that line the
back of the eye. These cells relay messages, in the form of action potentials to the
central nervous system.
■What is Perception?

While our sensory receptors are constantly collecting information from the
environment, it is ultimately how we interpret that information that affects how we
interact with the world. It is the process whereby the brain interprets sensations,
giving information order and meaning.
Perception refers to the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and
consciously experienced. Perception involves both bottom-up and top-down
processing.

1. Bottom-up processes: are processes that are involved in identifying a stimulus by

analysing the information available in the external stimulus. This also refers to
information processing that begins at the receptor level and continues to higher brain
centres.

2.Top-down processes: are processes that are involved in identifying a stimulus by

using the knowledge we already possess about the situation. This knowledge is
based on past experiences and allows us to form expectations about what we ought
to perceive.

a. This also refers to information processing that begins in higher brain centres
and proceeds to receptors.

b. Top-down processes allow for perceptual judgments and bias to start

influencing how we process incoming stimuli and information. Early incoming
information is already being processed in terms of top-down influences and
previous experience.

Perception passes three basic process: Selection, Organization and Interpretation

Selection: The first step in perception is selection in which we select the

stimuli to which we will attend.

Organization: It is the second phases of perception that involves the collection of

information into pattern or categories (mentally arrange of information)

Interpretation: is the stage of meaning -making of the stimulus received by sensory

organs and categories in the phase of organization.

•An example of perception would be interpreting that sensory signal, such as

becoming alarmed if you hear somebody call "help!"

Another example, upon walking into a kitchen and smelling the scent of baking
cinnamon rolls, the sensation is the scent receptors detecting the odour of
cinnamon, but the perception may be “Mmm, this smells like the bread Grandma
used to bake when the family gathered for holidays.”
 Sensory Adaptation

Although our perceptions are built from sensations, not all sensations result in
perception. In fact, we often don’t perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant
over prolonged periods of time. This is known as sensory adaptation.

Sensory Adaptation: is the tendency of receptor cells in the sense organs to

respond less and less to a constant stimulus.

•Adaptation occurs as a result of prolonged exposure to stimuli.

•For example:

Hearing: Imagine entering a classroom with an old analogy clock. Upon first
entering the room, you can hear the ticking of the clock; as you begin to engage
in conversation with classmates or listen to your professor greet the class, you
are no longer aware of the ticking. The clock is still ticking, and that information is
still affecting sensory receptors of the auditory system. The fact that you no
longer perceive the sound demonstrates sensory adaptation and shows that
while closely associated, sensation and perception are different.

Taste: Through prolonged exposure, certain tastes can become blander as our taste buds
adapt over time. So, salty food can taste without many flavours if eaten for an extended
period.

Depth perception

Depth perception refers to the ability to see the world in 3D and judge how far
away/close objects are from and to us. This judgement is very important for
navigating everyday life. How we move from one point to another relies quite
heavily on our ability to perceive depth, and even picking up an object, such as your
pencil, relies on the ability to judge depth.
Cues in Psychology
Cues in psychology are a stimulus, object or event that guides or influences behaviour.
Two types of cues that affect how we see things are monocular and binocular depth
cues.

Monocular depth cues: information about the depth that can be judged using only
one eye. Monocular depth cues can be used in pictures, so many monocular depth
cues are used in art to give viewers a sense of depth.
There are four monocular depth cues you will need to know for GCSE psychology. These are:

1. Height in plane
2. Relative size
 3. Occlusion
4. Linear perspective

Height in Plane
Height in plane is when objects placed higher up appear or would be interpreted as
further away. Height in plane is an example of a monocular depth cue.
Let's discuss an example of height in plane to understand the concept better. Imagine a
sheet of paper with a picture of two houses, with one placed higher than the other.
In this case, we would interpret the higher-up house as further away and the lower-
down as closer.

Relative Size
If there are two objects that are the same size (e.g., two trees of the same size), the
object that is closer will look larger.

Occlusion
This is when one object partially hides another object. The object in front overlapping
the other is perceived to be closer than the partially hidden one.

Linear Perspective
This is when two parallel lines come together at some point in the horizon; the closer
together the two lines are, the further away they seem.
A common example is a road that appears to converge in the distance. The closer the
parallel lines appear to get, the further away it seems.

Binocular depth cues: information about depth that uses both eyes to see and
understand 3D space; this is much easier for our brains to comprehend than monocular
depth cues.

•For example: if we were crossing the road and couldn't judge how far away a car
was, it would be a bit of a disaster.

There are two types of binocular depth cues, these are:

1. Convergence
2. Retinal disparity
Convergence
To present images of what we see onto the retinas (the layer of tissue at the back of the
eyes that sense light and transports images to the brain), the two eyes must rotate
inwards toward each other. The closer an object is, the more the eyes must rotate.
The brain uses this information (amount of rotation) as a cue to construe how far away
an object is. This works by detecting muscle differences the convergence causes in our
eyes and analysing that information to decide the depth. It's a feedback tool, in a
sense.
•For example: if you were to hold a marble in front of your face and move it closer to
your face, eventually, your eyes would begin to cross. Your brain would then be able to
tell how close the object was to your face by detecting how much your eyes were
'crossing', using the muscles.

Retinal Disparity
When we see something, slightly different images of what we see are sent to each
retina (as our eyes are apart, each eye sees things from a slightly different angle).
However, we don't view the world as a series of two images. This is because the brain
processes the degree of difference or disparity between the two images and assembles
one image for us that has depth, height, and width.
Example:
A test you can do that also brings home the concept of large and small disparity is a
test with your thumb. Give yourself a thumbs up, and then extend your arm so the
thumb up is far away from you. Close one eye and then the other, so you're only
looking at your thumb with the left eye, the right, then the left, etc.
You'll notice that your thumb moves back and forth a little (your brain thinks the thumb
isn't moving much, so it must be far away, i.e., small disparity).
Now put your thumb super close to you (but not so close it's blurry) and do the same
thing, closing one eye and then the other. You'll notice that your thumb moves back and
forth a lot (your brain thinks the thumb is moving a lot and that the thumb must be
closer to you, i.e., large disparity).

perceptual constancies
There are several types of perceptual constancies, including shape constancy, size
constancy, lightness constancy, and colour constancy.

* Shape constancy is the ability to perceive the shape of an object as constant even
when its orientation or position in space changes. For example, if you look at a
square table from above, it will still appear to be a square, even though the angle at
which you are viewing it has changed.

* Size constancy is the ability to perceive the size of an object as constant even
when its distance from you changes. For example, if you look at a car driving away
from you, it will still appear to be the same size, even though it is getting smaller in
your field of view.

* Lightness constancy is the ability to perceive the lightness of an object as constant

even when the amount of light shining on it changes. For example, if you look at a
white piece of paper in a dark room, it will still appear to be white, even though the
amount of light reflecting off of it is very low.

* Colour constancy is the ability to perceive the colour of an object as constant even
when the lighting conditions change. For example, if you look at a red apple in
sunlight, it will still appear to be red, even though the amount of red light reflecting off
of it is different in sunlight than it would be in artificial light.

Perceptual constancies are important because they allow us to perceive the world
around us in a consistent and reliable way. Without them, the world would appear to
be constantly changing and we would have difficulty making sense of it.
REFERENCE
•study.com
•www.studymaster.co.uk
•courses.lumenlearning.com
•aardvak.ucsd..edu
•www.apa.org