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Understanding Sensation and Perception in Psychology

This article explores the processes of sensation and perception, from the transformation of stimulus energy to cognitive awareness of environmental stimuli. It covers topics such as sensory receptors, thresholds of sensation, visual pathways, color vision theories, and the psychology of visual perception. Gain insights into how the brain interprets stimuli based on prior experiences and expectations.

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Understanding Sensation and Perception in Psychology

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  1. Sensation and Perception

  2. Sensation and Perception • Transformation of stimulus energy into a meaningful understanding • Each sense converts energy into awareness

  3. Sensation • Detection and encoding of physical stimuli into neural signals • Occurs at sensory receptors • External stimuli correspond to sensory modalities • Light waves: ___________ • Sound waves : ___________ • Pressure, warmth, cold, pain : ___________ • Chemical messengers : _________&__________ • Body position and movement : _________&_________

  4. Perception • Organization of sensory information into cognitive awareness environmental stimuli • Occurs in the cerebral cortex

  5. Processing stimuli • Bottom-up processing • Scientific explanation • Begins with receptors and works up to integration • Top-down processing • Understanding stimuli based on prior experience and expectations • The brain will rapidly interpret stimuli based on their “most likely” explanation

  6. Thresholds of sensation • Absolute threshold • Minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time • Difference threshold • Minimum difference between two stimuli that can be detected 50% of the time

  7. Subliminal sensations • Sensations not strong enough to be perceived • May be processed sometimes • May result in understanding without conscious awareness • Blindsight • Useful persuasion method?

  8. Sensory adaptation • Diminished sensitivity to a continuous stimulus • Allows for focus on relevant stimuli

  9. Vision • Stimulus: visible light • Wavelength • Intensity

  10. Vision • Receptive organ: the eye

  11. Photoreceptors • Rods • Cones

  12. Visual pathway • Optic nerve • Exits retina • Optic chiasm • Thalamus • Primary visual cortex

  13. Processing visual stimuli • Feature detectors in the primary visual cortex respond to specific features in parallel • Form • Movement • Depth • Color • This information is passed to higher levels of cortical processing for integration

  14. Perception of visual stimuli • Perception occurs in visual association areas in the occipital, parietal and temporal lobes

  15. Color vision • Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory • Red, green, blue color receptors in the retina • Stimulation of one or many results in color sensation • Opponent-process theory • Colors are analyzed in terms of opponent colors • Red vs. Green • Yellow vs. Blue • Black vs. White • One color turns some cells “on” and other cells “off”

  16. Psychology of visual perception • Top-down processing means that what we see is influenced by biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors Perceptions are the result of interpretations by an experienced brain!

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