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    G PSYCHOLOGY CH 3

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    Shafqat Ahmed

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    G PSYCHOLOGY CH 3

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    G PSYCHOLOGY CH 3

    Uploaded by

    Shafqat Ahmed

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

    CHAPTER 3
    Sensation and Perception

    Before we can understand how the brain reconstructs our world using mental schemas
    it’s critical to learn how information from the world is first sensed and perceived.

    Sensation

    The physical process during which our sensory organs (e.g., eyes, ears, nose among
    others) respond to external stimuli is called sensation. Sensation happens when you
    eat noodles or feel the wind on your face or hear a car horn honking in the distance.
    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.

    Perception

    After our brain receives the electrical signals we make sense of all this stimulation and
    begin to appreciate the complex world around us. This psychological process, making
    sense of the stimuli, is called perception. It is during this process that you are able
    to identify a gas leak in your home, recognize the color orange, or connect a song that
    reminds you of a specific afternoon spent with friends. Perception is the process of
    interpreting and organizing the information that we received from our senses.

    Our experience influences how our brain processes information. You have tasted food
    that you like and food that you don’t like. There are some bands you enjoy and others
    you can’t stand. When eat something new or hear a new band, you process those
    stimuli using bottom-up processing. This is when we build up to perception from the
    individual pieces.

    Sometimes stimuli we’ve experienced in our past will influence how we process new
    ones. This is called top-down processing. The best way to illustrate these two
    concepts is with our ability to read.

    Types of 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
    GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
    CHAPTER 3
    a neurological impulse. ToMuch, 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.

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