SENSATION AND
PERCEPTION

Sensation: the process in which our sensory receptors and
nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our
environment

Perception: the process of organizing and interpreting sensory
information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and
events
DEFINITIONS

Absolute threshold: the minimum stimulation needed to detect a
particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Subliminal: below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Difference threshold: the minimum difference between two stimuli
required for detection 50 percent of the time

Webster’s Law: the principle that, to be perceived as different, two
stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a
constant amount)

Sensory adaption: diminished sensitivity as a consequence of
constant stimulation
THRESHOLDS

Our eyes receive light energy and transduce it into neural
messages that our brain then processes into what we consciously
see.

Two physical characteristics of light are the wavelength – the
distance from one wave peak to the next and the intensity or
brightness/energy of the light waves
VISION
THE EYE
VISUAL PROCESSING

Our audition or hearing is very adaptive

The physical characteristics of sounds are its frequency of waves
and the pitch of the sound
HEARING
THE EAR
AUDIO PROCESSING

Skin sensations vary into four groups – pressure, warmth, cold, and
pain

Kinesthesis: the system for sensing the positions and movement of
our individual body parts

Vestibular sense: the sense of body movement and position,
including balance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxwn1w7MJvk
TOUCH

Basic tastes are: sweet, salty, sour, bitter

Sensory interaction includes smell plus texture equals flavor
TASTE
TASTE ZONES
SMELL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OelrPzpQ6Q
HOW SENSES GO WITH PERCEPTION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNbF006Y5x4&playnext=1&lis
t=PLBAA093DAADDF09A6&feature=results_main


Your senses concluding assumption
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCV2Ba5wrcs

Perception explained
VIDEOS