Question

How do sensation and perception influence learning? Provide examples of how sensation and perception can support or distract your learning.

Answer 1

Sensation and perception are complementary processes. Our five sense organs- eyes, ear, smell, taste, and touch -gather information and send it to the brain. This process is called Sensation. The Perception is the process that refers to the interpretation of what we take in through our senses. This happens as a result of cognitive processing. Constantly the brain uses gathered information in order to make decisions that one is unaware of. In other words, the sensation is used to learn, while perception is what interprets what is learned.

The starkest example to understand this phenomenon could be the influence of sound when one is trying to study. When there is a television running next to the room where I am studying, it becomes very difficult for me to concentrate and learn. One simple chapter can take me a lot of time to understand as opposed to when the television is not running and I have all the peace and quiet to study and finish the chapter. The continuous noise picked up by my ear has provided a distracting environmental stimulus and has inhibited learning.