Question

How do sensation and perception interact? Give two specific examples from your own experiences. What factors might influence both the sensation and the perception?

Answer 1

• Perception is the state initial point of awareness of the existence of some stimulus.Sensation, follows or corresponds to perception, and is the essence of the experience of a longer term perception.
• Sensation refers to the process of sensing our environment through touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell. This information is sent to our brains in raw form where perception comes into play. Perception is the way we interpret these sensations and therefore make sense of everything around us
• Feeling a breeze on your skin would be a sensation. It could also be a perception, but perception tends to connote a more involved group of sensations and contexts, and/or the relation of those sensations to objective reality. I perceive that the sun is setting. I have the sensation of seeing a bright disk changing colors as it sinks into the horizon.
• HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER:
• 1) Sensation occurs:
• a) sensory organs absorb energy from a physical stimulus in the environment.
• b) sensory receptors convert this energy into neural impulses and send them to the brain.
• 2) Perception follows:
• a) the brain organizes the information and translates it into something meaningful.
• b)Selective attention process is used to to discriminate between what is important and what is irrelevant.For example,I would rather focus my attention on a piece of news that validates my opinions rather than which is irrevalant.
• c)Perceptual Expectancy - how we perceive the world is a function of our past experiences, culture, and biological makeup.For example, as an American, when I look at a highway, I expect to see cars, trucks, etc, not airplanes. But someone from a different country with different experiences and history may not have any idea what to expect and thus be surprised when they see cars go driving by.
• Another example - you may look at a painting and not really understand the message the artist is trying to convey. But, if someone tells you about it, you might begin to see things in the painting that you were unable to see before.
• The factors affecting the sensations and perceptions of people are:
• Perceptual learning:-Based on past experiences or any special training that we get, every one of us learns to emphasise some sensory inputs and to ignore others. For example, a person who has got training in some occupation like artistry or other skilled jobs can perform better than other untrained people. Experience is the best teacher for such perceptual skills.For example, blind people identify the people by their voice or by sounds of their footsteps.
• Mental set:-Set refers to preparedness or readiness to receive some sensory input. Such expectancy keeps the individual prepared with good attention and concentration. For example, when we are expecting the arrival of a train, we listen to its horn or sound even if there is a lot of noise disturbance.
• Motives and needs:-Our motives and needs will definitely influence our perception. For example, a hungry person is motivated to recognise only the food items among other articles. His attention cannot be directed towards other things until his motive is satisfied.