Sensation and Perception
Sensation: Receiving Messages Around the World
• Sense organs- These organs enable us to see, hear, taste, smell, touch, balance, and experience
such as feeling as body stiffness, soreness, fullness, warmth, pleasure, pain and movement.
• Sensory receptor cells-receives outside forms of energy and translates them into neutral
impulses that can be transmitted to the brain for interpretation.
• Sensation- the process of receiving information from the outside world, translating it, and
transmitting it to the brain
• Perception- the process of interpreting that information and forming images of the world
• Stimulus- any aspect of the outside world that directly influences our behavior or conscious
experience.
Sense Stimulus Sensory Receptors
Sight(vision) Light waves Light-sensitive rods and cones in
the retina of the eye
Hearing(audition) Sound waves Pressure-sensitive hair cells in
the cochlea of the inner ear
Taste(gustation) Molecules dissolved in fluid on Taste cells in the taste buds of
the tongue the tongue
Smell(olfaction) Molecules dissolved in the fluid Sensitive ends of olfactory
on mucous membranes in the neurons in the mucous
nose membranes
Touch (somesthetic sense) Pressure on the skin Sensitive ends of touch neurons
in the skin
• Transduction- the process of converting stimuli into codes of electrochemical impulses that
neurons can carry and the brain understands
• Absolute threshold- smallest magnitude that can be detected
• Examples of Absolute threshold
Sense Absolute threshold
Sight(vision) A candle seen at 45 km on a dark clear night
Hearing(audition) A tick of a watch at 20 ft under quite
conditions
Taste(gustation) 1 tsp of sugar in 2 gal. of water
Smell(olfaction) 1 drop of perfume diffused into a 3 room
apartment
Touch (somesthetic sense) The wing of a fly falling on your cheek from a
distance of 0.5 in.
• Difference threshold- The smallest difference between 2 stimuli that subjects c an detect half
the time
• Sensory adaptation- weakened magnitude of a sensation resulting from prolonged presentation
of the stimulus
The human Senses
Vision: Sense of sight
Cornea
Sclera
Aqueous humor
Pupil
Iris
Lens
Ciliary muscles
Vitreous humor
Retina
Fovea
Blind spot
Optic nerve
Properties of light
Hue- the visual dimension seen as a particular color; determined by the length of a light wave
(wavelength)
Brightness- the intensity of color; determined by height of a light wave (amplitude) as such that
the higher the wave, the greater the amplitude, and the brighter the color
Other important terms
Accommodation- the bulging and flattening of the lens in order to focus an image on the retina
Rods- receptors in the retina that are most sensitive in dim light; they do not respond to color
Cones- receptors in the retina to color and fine detail
Dark adaptation- visual adjustment that increases the sensitivity of the rods and cones and
allows us to see better in dim light
Light adaptation- the visual adjustment of the rods and cones that reduces sensitivity to bright
light
Common vision problems
Myopia- nearsightedness
Hyperopia- farsightedness
Presbyopia-farsightedness at old age
Glaucoma- conditions characterized by increase pressure within the eyeball
Cataract- a disorder in which lens becomes cloudy
Audition: Sense of Hearing
Outer ear
Pinna
Auditory canal
Tympanic membrane(eardrum)
Middle ear
Ossicles
Oval window
Inner ear
Cochlea
Auditory nerve
Other important terms
Sound waves- vibrations of the air or of another medium that vary in frequency and amplitude
Intensity- the density of vibrating air molecules, which determines the loudness of sound
Pitch- the highness or lowness of tones or sounds, depending on their frequency
Timbre- a characteristic quality of a sound
Hertz- a unit of frequency representing one cycle(vibration) per second
Decibel- measurement of the intensity of perceived sound
Hearing problems
Conduction deafness- temporary deafness caused by building up fluid that prevents the
eardrum and ossicles from vibrating and also by poor condition of ossicles due to old age
Nerve deafness- hearing loss that stems from damage to the nerve cells in the cochlea or by the
simple process of aging
Somesthetic Sense: The sense of Touch or Cutaneous Sense
4 Basic Somesthetic Sensations
Pressure- caused by anything that comes in contact with the skin
Pain- caused by the stimulus being strong enough to cause damage to the skin
Cold- low temperature sensed
Warmth- high temperature sensed
Olfaction: The sense of smell
Smell- is a chemical sense where we sample our environment’s information
Adaptation- wearing off of olfactory sensitivity to odors which seem initially overpowering
Anosmia- loss of smell
7 widely used classification of odors
Floral
Resinous
Minty
Putrid
Musky
Ethereal
Acrid
Gustation: The sense of taste
4 basic sensations
Sweet
Sour
Salty
Bitter
Taste buds- are flask like structures containing taste cells in the papilla
Important terms
Global sensation- sensation that results when both the sense and smell and taste are working
simultaneously
Ageusia- loss of the sense of taste
Other Senses
Proprioception- the general term for our sense of body position
Kinesthetic Sense (sense of movement)- receptors are located in the muscles, tendons and joints
Vestibular Sense (sense of balance)- receptors are located in the part of the ear
Organic Sensitivity- sensation that come from inside us
Perception: Interpreting Sensory Messages
Perception- sensations that are transmitted to the brain that have little meaning of their own
Visual Perception- is a sensing system that tells us something about the world
Important processes of perception
1. Attention
Voluntary attention- requires effort
Involuntary attention- aroused by the potency of the stimulus
Habitual attention- grows out of practice
Adjustment in Attending
Adjustment of the sense organs
Adjustment of posture
Muscle tension
Attention getting devices
Intensity- is the strength of stimulus
Size- proportion of the stimulus
Location- strategic position of a stimulus
Colors- certain colors attract attention easily than others
Mobiles- moving objects attract more than stationary objects
Novelty- unusualness and strangeness of stimulus
Nature- visual stimuli
2. Perceptual organization
Figure ground- in every visual stimulus, the center of our attention is the figure and
everything else is the background
Continuity- we tend to perceive lines or patterns that follows a smooth contour as being
part of a single unit
Proximity- things that are close together are usually perceived as belonging together
Similarity- similar elements within perceptual field tend to be grouped together
Closure- incomplete figures tend to be perceived as complete wholes
Perceptual Constancy- tendency of perceptions of objects to remain relatively unchanged, in
spite of changes in raw sensations
Brightness constancy- tendency for brightness of familiar objects to be perceived as
constant even through then retinal image changes
Color constancy- ability to perceive the color of familiar objects as constant even
through the sensation of color may change
Size constancy- familiar objects do not change in perceived size at different distances
Shape constancy- allows object to maintain a constant shape even though their
orientation or position might change
Depth perception- the ability to accurately estimate the distance of perceived objects and
thereby perceive the world in 3 dimensions
Binocular depth cues- Involves both eyes
Monocular depth cues- Works with each eye separately
Monocular cues
Texture gradient- the texture of objects is larger and more visible up close and smaller far away
Linear perspective- objects cast smaller images on the retina when they are more distant
Superposition- closer objects tend to be partially in front of, or partially cover up, more distant
objects
Shadowing- shadows cast by objects suggest their depths
Speed of movement- objects farther away appear to move across the field of vision
Aerial perspective
Relative size- smaller objects appear more distant than larger objects
Vertical position- when objects are on the ground, the farther they appear to be below the
horizon, the closer they appear to be to us. For objects in the air, however, the farther they
appear to be above the horizon, the closer they appear to us
Binocular cues
Convergence- when both eyes are looking at an object in the center of the visual field, they must
angle inward more sharply for a near object than for the distant object
Retinal disparity- refers to the fact that because the eyes are slightly in different locations, a
slightly different or disparate view of an object falls on each retina
Auditory perception- concerned with the location of the source of sound
3 binaural cues- the use of 2 ears
Time difference- present when the sound reaches 1 ear earlier than the other
Intensity difference- present when the sound stimulates the ear closer to the sound more
strongly
Phase difference- occurs when a sound reaches the two ears at different points
3. Interpretation- final stage of perception where the brain uses information top explain and make
judgements about the external world
Factors that influence Interpretation
Past experiences
Motive
Interest
Set
Features of perception
Perception is knowledge based- perception matches incoming stimuli with previously learned
information
Perception is often inferential- people don’t perceive stimuli exactly as they are, but infer what
should be there
Perception is categorical- places sensations into categories based on common features
Perception is relational- influenced by the relationships
Perception is adaptive- focus on the most important aspects of the environment
Perception is automatic- without conscious awareness
Perception of time
- Time can be perceived either as longer or shorter than what the clock tells.
Perception and emotion
- Feelings and emotions influence one’s capacity to perceive accurately
- In court trials, testimonies given by emotionally excited persons are often unreliable
- Errors in perceptions due to emotions caused their testimonies to differ
Extra Sensory Perception
Telepathy- refers to the transfer of thoughts between individuals
Clairvoyance- refers to the perception of objects or events that are not available to the senses
such as “seeing” the message inside a sealed envelope
Psychokinesis/telekinesis- is the ability to influence the movement of material bodies by the
power of thought alone
Precognition- ability to foretell future events
Parapsychology- is a science devoted to investigations of psychical phenomena
Reference:
Psychology: an Introduction, 7th ed. By Benjamin B. Lahey, 2001
Psychology,7th ed. By John W. Santrock
Psychology in Action, 5th ed. By Karen Huffman, 2000
Introduction to psychology by Bucu, et al.
PSYCHOLOGY
TTH 7:30 – 9:00 AM
Sensation and
Perception
SUBMITTED BY:
CARINO, SAMSON JR.
CASTROMAYOR, SARAH JOY
TAN, JESSA
TORRES, LANCE CHRISTIAN
YUSAY, LYKA
SUBMITTED TO:
SIR DOMINADOR TORRES
