Chapter 2:Sensation and
Perception
1. What are Sensation and Perception?
• Sensation-the stimulation of sensory
receptors and transmission of sensory
information to the central nervous system,
is normal.
• Perception- the process by which
sensations are organized and interpreted to
form an inner representation of the world, is
almost normal.
• (Attention-Selection-Organization-Perception)
Selectivity in perception
• Yet only a few of these are perceived
clearly at one time. Other stimuli or events
are perceived less clearly and the rest
from a sort of hazy background of which
we are only partially aware
• the various events around us, we attend to
only a few. So attention is a basic factor in
perception.
2. Absolute Threshold
• Weakest amount of a stimulus that can be
distinguished from no stimulus at all
– Detected 50% of the time
• Sensation is the process of receiving,
converting, and transmitting information
from the outside world. Sensory organs
contain receptors that transduce sensory
energy into nerve impulses that are carried
to the brain.
• Transduction: sensory receptors convert a
physical energy into nerve impulses.
• Three Types of Processing:
• Transduction: converts sensory stimuli into
neural impulses that are sent on to the brain
• Sensory Reduction: filters and analyzes
incoming sensations before sending on to
the brain
• Coding: converts particular sensory input
into a specific sensation sent to differing
parts of the brain
2. Absolute Threshold
• Weakest amount of a stimulus that can be
distinguished from no stimulus at all
– Detected 50% of the time
3. Difference Threshold
• Minimum difference in magnitude of two stimuli required
to tell them apart
• Difference Threshold: minimal difference needed to
detect a stimulus change; also called the just noticeable
difference (JND)
• Sensory adaptation refers to the fact that repeated or
constant stimulation decreases the number of sensory
messages sent to the brain, which causes decreased
sensation
– Detected 50% of the time
4. Influences on Perception
• Stimulus characteristics and psychological factors
interact to influence whether a stimulus is
detected.
– Psychological factors such as learning,
motivation, and psychological states (attention)
– Perceptual set- what we expect to perceive
Attention (Inattentional blindness)
– Social perception
External Factors in Attention
Getting
• Intensity and size: the louder a sound,
the more likely a person is attending to it.
The brighter a light, the more it tends to
capture our attention.
• Contrast: as human beings we tend to
adapt or become used to the stimulation
around us. Any change in the stimulation
to which we have become adapted
immediately captures our attention. What
contrasts with surrounding environment
• Repetition: at times the repletion of a
stimulus is important to gain attention. A
misspelled word is more likely to be
noticed it occurs twice in the same
paragraph than if it occurs once.
• Movement: human beings as well as most
other animals are quite sensitive to objects
that move with in their field of vision. Our
eyes are involuntary attracted to
movement in much the same ways as the
• Novelty: the interest in novel stimulation
had been called a curiosity drive. It has
been demonstrated in a variety of
experiments with animals as well as in
observations of children and adults that
interest to a novel stimulus attracts
attention objects or situation tends to
diminish after some time has been spent
with it.
Internal Factors in Attention
• Motives: our needs and interests govern not only what
will attract our attention but also what will hold it. Even the
sleepiest student in the class can be made attentive if the
instructor announces that he is going to talk about sex
practices. Not only are basic motives such as sex and
hunger important in directing attention, but any of the
great variety of human motives and interests effectively
stimulate attention.
• Set or expectancy: besides our interest and
motives, set or expectancy plays a major role in
selecting what we shall perceive. If we expect to
see, hear, etc., we tend to see, hear, etc, move
easily than without any expectation.
5. Transduction & Adaptation
• Sensory receptors- • After a time, the
detect and respond to sensory receptors
one type of sensory grow accustomed to
stimuli- light, smell, constant, unchanging
etc. levels of stimulus-
• Transduction-the sights, smell, etc.- we
sensory receptors notice it less & less-
convert the sensory adaptation
stimulation into neural
impulses.
1. Visual Perception
• Process used to organize sensory impressions
caused by the light that strikes our eyes
• Sensation is a mechanical process
• Perception is an active process
– Involves experience, expectations and
motivations
1. Visual Perception
• Process used to organize sensory impressions
caused by the light that strikes our eyes
• Sensation is a mechanical process
• Perception is an active process
– Involves experience, expectations and
motivations
1. Visual Perception
• Process used to organize sensory impressions
caused by the light that strikes our eyes
• Sensation is a mechanical process
• Perception is an active process
– Involves experience, expectations and
motivations
2. Perceptual Organization
• Figure – Ground Perception
– Ambiguous, unstable figures, we shift back & forth
Gestalt Rules for Perceptual Organization
3. Gestalt Rules for Perceptual Organization
• Common Fate
– Elements moving together are grouped together
(runners)
• Closure
– Fit bits of information into familiar patterns;
– Perception of a complete figure, even when there are
gaps in sensory information
• Proximity
– Nearness of objects
• Similarity
– Similarity of objects
• Continuity
– Series of points having unity
Perceptual Constancies
• Acquired through experience; creates stability
– Size Constancy
– Color Constancy
– Brightness Constancy
– Shape Constancy
Hallucination and illusion
• Illusion refers to instances in which
perception yields false interpretation about
the physical reality. An illusion occurs
when the choice is incorrect. Distortion of
Physical realities, Fatigue and Distortion of
Cognitive Processes
• Hallucination picture is created solely
from memory, without visual stimulus (or
with only a minimal visual stimulus) the
result is hallucination,
Illussion
• The mirage is an example of an external
illusion, created in the first, physical link of
light rays. It is visually interpreted as an
actual scene, though we consciously
recognize it as an illusion, and understand
its cause.
Extrasensory Perception - ESP
• Perception through means other than sensory
organs
• Precognition:- This refers to the ability to
foretell future events. Some people are
believed to have the ability to tell what is
going to happen after some time.
• Clairvoyance:- This is the ability to
perceive hidden objects that are not clearly
observable or perceivable to anyone. For
these people you cannot hide something
and lie that you do not have it.
• Telepathy:- It refers to direct transmission
of thoughts from one person to the other
without using any of the known senses.
Such people are also known as mind
readers.
• Psychokinesis:- This refers to a unique
ability to affect the physical world purely
through thoughts. People with such an
extrasensory power can, for example,
bend a spoon, or a key without touching
(without applying any physical force).
Perception of Depth: how far
away is something?
• Our impressive ability to judge depth and
distance occurs because we make use of
many different cues informing such
judgments.
• These cues can be divided into two
categories as binocular and monocular
depending on whether they can be seen
with our one eye or require the use of both
eyes
