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Sensation, Perception, Attention

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15 views

Sensation, Perception, Attention

Uploaded by

missionabhiyasinfo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SENSATION AND

PERCEPTION
SENSATION
 Sensation is defined as the process of the sensory organs transforming
physical energy into neurological impulses the brain interprets as the five
senses of vision, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.
 During sensation, our sense organs are engaging in transduction, the
conversion of one form of energy into another. For example, physical energy
such as light or a sound wave is converted into a form of electrical energy
that the brain can understand.
SENSATION
 Sensation encompasses the five sensory systems of the visual system, auditory system,
skin senses, gustation (taste) and olfaction (smell). These can be broken down into
categories based on what form of stimulation the sensory organs and sensory receptors
are sensitive to. Mechanoreception is the conversion of mechanical energy into a
neurological impulse. Touch, and sound for example are transformed by receptors in the
skin and inner ear into our experience of pressure and hearing. Chemoreception are the
chemical senses of taste and smell where receptors in the tongue and nose respond to
molecules in food and the air we breathe. Vision is discussed separately because of the
nature of photoreceptors and light itself.
 Together, these senses provide the information that informs an organism of the
surrounding environment and enables them to interact, react and manipulate that
environment based on evolutionary needs. Human hearing has evolved to become
sensitive to consonant sounds of human speech and the cry of a human child, for
example. The animal kingdom has a range of hearing that far exceeds our own because
this information beyond our hearing capability is important for their survival. Human
vision is best suited to a well lit daytime environment with fine color vision. Animals
such as cats are more in tune with dark environments for hunting at night. Each has
evolved differently based on different requirements.
PERCEPTION
 Perception refers to the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and
consciously experienced. Perception involves both bottom-up and top-down
processing. Bottom-up processing refers to the fact that perceptions are built from
sensory input. On the other hand, how we interpret those sensations is influenced by
our available knowledge, our experiences, and our thoughts. This is called top-down
processing.
 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. Imagine
entering a classroom with an old analog 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.
PERCEPTION- GESTALT LAWS

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