fig 1 (OCAL, 2008)
Brief History of Sensation and Perception
By: Yarel Luquis
Fig 2. Fechner
(Gepshtein,
2010)
1800’s –early 1900’s
The first strides made in the 19
th
century in the field of perception were statistical (Gephstein,
2010). By the 1960’s Gustav T. Fechner [fig 1] a physicist of the University of Leipzig incorporated
“Weber’s Law,” based on theory proposed by Ernst Weber in 1835 which stated that sensory stimulus
was dependent upon a “ratio of difference,” into his development of an equation to demonstrate the
ratio (Ballantyne, 2008). Fechner published the mathematical equation: S = k log R. The equation, later
named the Weber-Fechner law, went on to demonstrate a relationship between stimulus and sensation
as they are experienced through touch. This approach to the study of sensation and perception created
a precedent for a deeper divide between two aspects of Perception. Gepshtein (2008) summarizes the
long term effects of this split in the following passage:
“This dualism splintered what was to become the science of perception, because perception has two
aspects: physical and mental. The physical aspect (publicly observable, third-person) was deemed
susceptible to methods of natural science. The mental aspect (private, first-person) was deemed
intractable by the scientific method.”
The marked distinction between the two set Psychology on a course for a wider range of
proposals. It was for this reason that when in 1874 philosopher Franz Z. Bentano proposed a more
purely observational approach in his published work Psychologie vom empirischen Standpunkt
(Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint), it was made free of any pre-conceived notion about
sensation as a sort of criticism to the formulas presented by his predecessors (2008). Bentano believed
deeply that in proposing premature relationships in statistical terms to explain causal relationships for
sensation, researchers were restricting themselves from fully exploring the other ways in which the
human mind could perceive stimulus.
However, despite their original conflicts, both Bentano and Fechner were crucial in building the
original groundwork for many of the psychological theories of today. While Fechner may have
emphasized a scientific and mathematically measurable approach to legitimizing the study of the human
mind in the eyes of his peers and the public, it was Bentano that highlighted the importance of empirical
observation and sparked a deep interest in the complexity and depth the field of perception could offer.
figure 3: one of the organizational laws existing
in Gestalt psychology (Kendra, 2012)
Between the years of 1875 to 1913, theories such as Wundt’s structuralism, a theory which
applied a breakdown to the process of thought; William James’ proposal of an adaptive ability in vision
and perception with functionalism; and Gestalt psychology founded by Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka,
and Wolfgang Kohler, which introduced the notion that perception could actually be composed of
several different senses which illustrated a whole was at the forefront of the study of sensation (Science
Encyclopedia, 2012). It was eventually the Gestalt school of thought that truly established itself due to
Max Weirtheimer’s experiments on perception of movement, which brought forward a whole new trend
of research which integrated manipulations rather than focusing solely on observations as Bentano had
originally proposed (Gephstein, 2010).
1950’s to Current
By the mid-20
th
century, the initial schism formed by separating perception into the two
individual concepts of physical versus mind began to converge due in great part to the technology that
World War II utilized (Driver, 2001). It was only in 1958 when Donald Broadbent likened the limits of the
human mind and its self-compensating nature to that of the processing center in a computer that there
was a way to link phenomena of the mind to actions that could be measured in terms of mathematics.
Broadbent’s Filter theory put forth the Cocktail Party effect, where auditory processing allowed a
subject to tune into relevant information in a loud room. In 1960, Treisman contributed her Attenuation
Theory to account for Broadbent’s over sight over auditory stimulus processed beyond what his theory
might have allowed. Attention again took pivotal role in the processing of sensations, especially when
neuroscientist considered Broadbent’s proposal of the human mind having limits in its capacity to
process all stimuli at once. Later Treisman would work with Gelade in the 1980’s on research to account
for how the human eye perceives objects in separate steps.
fig. 4 four accounts of selective attention (Driver, 2001)
It was in Britain, however, during the 1980’s where Alan Allport sought to make popular a more
literal approach to Broadbent’s “computer metaphor” and concentrate on how perception functions in
the brain centers (Driver, 2001). This leap towards neuroscience continues to be the trend currently as
advances in technology in the form of brain scanning machines including fMRI and Pet scans (among
others) allow researchers to observe perception as it occurs. This shift in bridging observable behavior
with actual verifiable data on the inner workings of the brain demonstrate that the path in achieving
understating of perception and sensation in psychology is at last on a rightful course. The gap developed
in the 1800’s is quickly vanishing in the face of technology today, and the many contributions made to
this field now have become a powerful foundation to the understanding of the human senses.
Ballantyne, Paul F. (2008). History and Theory of Psychology: An early 21st century student's
perspective. Retrieved July 28, 2012 from: http://www.igs.net/~pballan/section3%28210%29.htm
Cherry, Kendra. (2012). Law of Continuity. [image]. Retrieved July 23, 2012 from:
http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/gestaltlaws_5.htm
Driver, J. (2001). A selective review of selective attention research from the past century. British Journal
Of Psychology, 92(1), 53-78.
Driver, J. (2001). Schematic depiction of four influential accounts of selective attention. [image].
Retrieved July 23, 2012 from British Journal Of Psychology.
Gepshtein, S. (2010). Two psychologies of perception and the prospect of their synthesis. Philosophical
Psychology, 23(2), 217-281. doi:10.1080/09515081003727483
Science Encyclopedia. (2012). Psychology - A Brief History, Contemporary Psychology, Ten Main Fields Of
Psychology. Retrieved July 27, 2012 from: http://science.jrank.org/pages/5562/Psychology-briefhistory.html
OCAL. Cibo Auditory and Visual Perception. [clip art] 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2012, from
http://www.clker.com/clipart-16720.html