CHAPTER TWO

SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

Basic terms and concepts related to sensation and perception
To have a better understanding of the subject matter of sensation and perception, we need to define
related basic terms.
1. Stimulus:
It is a source of physical energy that produces a response in the sense organs. The energy could be
sound waves, light waves, and heat pressure to which an organism is capable of responding. A
sensation is a response to that energy by a sensory system. Stimulus and sensation have cause and
effect relationship. The quality of a stimulus refers to the kind of sensation it produces. Example:
Color----- visual stimulation
Musical pitch------auditory stimulation
The quantity of a stimulus refers to the amount of stimulus present. Example: brightness, loudness
Stimuli vary in both type and intensity. Different types of stimuli activate different sense organs.
Example: A light stimulus that activates our sense of sight and allows us to see the color of a tree is
called type. A sound stimulus that permits us to hear the sound of a musical instrument is called type.
How high a light stimulus needs to be before it is capable of being detected is intensity. How much
perfume a person must put on before others notice it is termed as intensity?
2. Response:
It is any reaction of an organism to or in the presence of a stimulus. The reaction could be muscular or
glandular.
3. Sensation:
It is the process by which an organism’s sense organs respond to a stimulus. It is the process whereby
stimulation of receptor cells (in the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and surface of the skin) sends nerve
impulses to the brain. After reaching the brain they are registered as a touch, a sound, a taste, and a
splash of color. Hence, sensation can be thought as an organism’s first encounter with sensory stimuli.
4. Transduction:
It is the sequence of operation by which physical energy (example, sound waves, light) is transformed
into patterns of neural impulse that give rise to sensory experience.

5. Perception:
It is the process whereby the brain interprets sensations, giving information order and meaning. It
takes into account experiences stored in our memory, the context in which the sensation occurs and
our internal state (our emotions and motivations). It is the process of forming hypotheses about what
the senses tell us. Without sensation of some kind perception could not occur.
A branch of psychology called psychophysics studies the relationship between the intensity of a
stimulus and its sensory response. In other words it studies the relationship between the physical
nature of stimuli and people’s sensory responses to them.
There are several factors that affect our perception. Some of these are:
a. Context and expectation
b. Motivation

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 c. Emotion and perception
d. Values, culture and personality
6. Absolute threshold:
It is the smallest intensity of a stimulus that must be present for it to be detected. For a stimulus to be
detected by our sense organs it must become strong enough. The following research findings on
absolute threshold are taken from the works of Galanter (1962) as cited in (Feldman, 1996) Sight:
a candle flame can be seen 30 miles away on a dark, clear night. ƒ
Hearing: the ticking of a watch can be heard 20 feet away under quiet conditions. ƒ
Taste: A teaspoon of sugar can be detected in nine liters of water ƒ
Smell: A drop of perfume can be detected when one drop is present in a three-room apartment. ƒ
Touch: The falling of a bee’s wing from a distance of one centimeter can be felt on a cheek.
7. Difference threshold:
It is the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli. A noticeable difference depends on the
value of the initial intensity of the stimulus.
8. Sensory adaptation:
It is an adjustment in sensory capacity following long period of exposure to stimuli. It 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, a change in the attitude and expectation of the individual.
9. Attention:
Attention is a general term referring to the selective aspects of perception which function so that any
instant an organism focuses on certain features of the environment to the exclusion of other features. A
factor of importance in the study of perception is attention.
Factors which determine whether or not we pay attention to a stimulus are:
1. Intensity: a bright color will attract us more than a dull one.
2. Size: a large thing is more likely to catch our attention than something small.
3. Duration of repetition: a quickly running stimulus will not catch our attention as easily as one,
which persists or is repeated.
4. Emotional content: a stimulus, which creates emotional feeling, attracts our attention more than a
neutral one.
5. Suddenness or novelty: sudden stimulus is likely to catch our attention more easily than one we
have been expecting.
6. Contrast: contrasting stimulus will attract attention more easily than those, which are similar to
each other.
7. Movement: a stimulus, which moves, is more likely to attract attention than something stationary.
Activity: Observe advertisements on the Ethiopian television. List the occasions and describe how the
above factors are evident. Assess the effectiveness of these advertisements in attracting the attention of
the public.
Theories related to sensation and perception
Signal detection theory:
This theory addresses the role of psychological factors in detecting stimuli. According to signal
detection theory there are two kinds of errors made by people in their attempt to detect a stimulus.
These are:
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  Reporting a stimulus as existing when it is non-existent;
 Reporting a stimulus as non-existent when it actually exists;
In such conditions, using signal detection theory, psychologists are able to obtain an understanding of
how observer’s expectations, motivations, and judgment affect individual’s ability to detect a stimulus.
The findings in signal detection theory have great practical importance in our life.
The Gestalt laws of organization
In the perceptual process, the senses work together to provide us with an integrated view and
understanding of the world. Perception is a constructive process by which we go beyond the stimuli
that are presented to us. From what we sense in our environment, the brain constructs a meaningful
situation.
The gestalt laws of organization are principles that describe how we organize and construct pieces of
information into meaningful wholes. They include: closure, proximity, similarity, and simplicity.
1. Closure:
We perceive things by grouping them as complete figure rather than open and breaks. We tend to
ignore the breaks in the figure below and concentrate on the overall form as a triangle.
2. Proximity:
Things that are closer together are grouped together. As a result we tend to see pairs of dots rather
than a row of single dots in the following patterns.
3. Similarity:
Elements that are similar in appearance are grouped together. We see horizontal rows of dots and
squares instead of vertical mixed columns below.
4. Simplicity:
When we observe a pattern, we perceive it in the most common straightforward manner. For example,
most of us see the figure below as a square with lines on two sides, rather than as the block letter “W”
on the top of the letter “M”. We generally tend to choose and interpret the simple one.
According to Gestalt psychologists, perception of stimuli in our environment is not simply putting
together individual elements. It requires an active, constructive process of the brain. It is when we put
together bits and pieces of information into a whole that we can better understand and solve problems
in our environment.
Figure-Ground perception
It is the perceptual relationship between the object of focus (the figure) and the field (the ground). The
figure has form or structure and appears to be in front of the ground. The ground is seen as extending
behind the figure. The relationship can be reversed by focusing on or attending to the ground rather
than the figure (for further explanation see the Gestalt perspective of learning under the heading
theories of learning)
Feature analysis theory
The theory is a more recent approach to the study of perception. According to feature analysis theory,
to perceive an object in our environment, we first react to individual aspects such as, shape, pattern,
object or scene. We start from these individual components and move to comprehend the overall nature
of what we perceived.

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Evidences suggest that sensitivity of individual neurons in the brain to specific configuration such as
angles, curves, shapes, and edges is responsible to breakdown an object into different component
parts.
Accordingly, perceptual process moves through two stages. These are:
 Pre attentive stage: At this stage we focus on the physical feature of a stimulus such as its
size, shape, color, orientation, or direction of movements. At this stage little or no
conscious effort is made to understand the stimulus.
 Focused-attention stage: At this stage we pay attention to particular features of an
object, choosing and emphasizing features that were initially considered separately. At
this stage we carefully consider the actual nature of the stimulus.
Directions in perception
The processing of Perception proceeds along two directions. These are top-down processing and
bottom-up processing.
1. Top- down processing
The top- down processing of perception is guided by a higher-level of knowledge, experience,
expectations, and motivations. Patterns can be recognized easily and rapidly, because we expect
certain shapes to be found in certain locations.
2. Bottom-up processing
The bottom-up of perception consists of recognizing and processing information about the individual
components of the stimuli. In the above mentioned example it may be difficult to recognize the
sentence without being able to perceive the individual shapes that make up the letters. Therefore,
partly perception requires the recognition of each separate letters. Conclusion: top-down and bottom-
up processing occur simultaneously and interact with each other, in our perception of the world around
us.
Depth perception
It requires that we perceive the distance of objects in the environment from us and from each other.
We do so by means of two kinds of cues; binocular (two-eye) and monocular (one eye).