Sensation and Perception

FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY
UNIT III – Sensation, Attention, and Perception
Ms. Sharon Vas

Department of Science - CAIAS
UNIT 3: SENSATION, ATTENTION, AND PERCEPTION:
● Sensation: Definition and Characteristics.

● Types of Senses and Receptors Involved in Each Sensation.
● Attention: Meaning and Phenomena (Span of Attention, Division of Attention, Fluctuation and distraction),
Determinants: Objective and Subjective.
● Perception: Meaning and Characteristics, Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization.
● Depth Perception: Meaning, Perceptual Constancies, Monocular and Binocular Cues.
● Errors in Perception - 1) Illusion - Types - Horizontal-Vertical, Muller Lyer and Illusion of Movement.2)
Hallucination- Visual, Auditory and Tactile
Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

UNIT III: SENSATION
BANKING AND PERCEPTION
INNOVATIONS
Sensation: Definition and Characteristics
The world that we inhabit is quite complicated. Moreover, the processes that
help us make sense out of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and other sensations
that constantly bombard us are not as simple or direct as common sense might
suggest. Psychological research has shown that we do not understand the
external world in a simple, automatic way. Rather, we actively construct our
interpretation of sensory information through several complex processes

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- Sensation
Sensation - Input about the physical world provided by our sensory receptors.

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Characteristics of Sensation:
1. Projection—the sensation seems to come from the area where the receptors were stimulated.
- If you touch this book, the sensation of touch seems to be in your hand but is actually being felt by your cerebral
cortex.
- The brain that feels sensations is demonstrated by patients who feel phantom pain after amputation of a limb.
- After loss of a hand, for example, the person may still feel that the hand is really there. Why does this happen? The
receptors in the hand are no longer present, but the severed nerve endings continue to generate impulses.
- These impulses arrive in the parietal lobe area for the hand, and the brain does what it has always done and creates
the projection, the feeling that the hand is still there.
- For most amputees, phantom pain diminishes as the severed nerves heal, but the person often experiences a
phantom “presence” of the missing part. This may be helpful when learning to use an artificial limb.

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2. Intensity—some sensations are felt more distinctly and to a greater degree than are others.
- A weak stimulus such as dim light will affect a small number of receptors, but a stronger stimulus,
such as bright sunlight, will stimulate many more receptors.
- When more receptors are stimulated, more impulses will arrive in the sensory area of the brain.
- The brain “counts” the impulses and projects a more intense sensation.

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3. Contrast—the effect of a previous or simultaneous sensation on a current sensation, which

may then be exaggerated or diminished.
- Again, this is function of the brain, which constantly compares sensations.
- If, on a very hot day, you jump into a swimming pool, the water may feel quite cold at
first.
- The brain compares the new sensation to the previous one, and since there is a significant
difference between the two, the water will seem colder than it actually is.

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4. Adaptation—becoming unaware of a continuing stimulus.

- Receptors detect changes, but if the stimulus continues it may not be much of a change, and the receptors will
generate fewer impulses.
- The water in the swimming pool that seemed cold at first seems to “warm up” after a few minutes.
- The water has not changed temperature, and the receptors for cold have no changes to detect, therefore they generate
fewer impulses.
- The sensation of cold lessens, and we interpret or feel that as increasing warmth.
- For another example, look at your left wrist (or perhaps the right one). Many of us wear a watch and are probably
unaware of its presence on the arm most of the time.
- The cutaneous receptors for touch or pressure adapt very quickly to a continuing stimulus, and if there is no change,
there is nothing for the receptors to detect.

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5. After-image—the sensation remains in the consciousness even after the stimulus has stopped.
- A familiar example is the bright after-image seen after watching a flashbulb go off.
- The very bright light strongly stimulates receptors in the retina, which generate many
impulses that are perceived as an intense sensation that lasts longer than the actual stimulus.



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Types of Sensations and Receptors involved in each sensation
Types of Sensation:

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Types of Sensation:
1. Organic sensations - produced by the conditions of the internal organs of
the body.
2. Special sensations - produced by the stimulation of the special
sense-organs, viz., the eye, the ear, the tongue, the nose and the skin by
special kinds of stimuli.
3. Motor or Kinesthetic sensations - produced by changes in the organs of
movement, viz., muscles, tendons and joints.
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Types of Sensation:
1. Organic sensations -
- They have no special sense organs.
- They are not produced by external stimuli.
- They are produced by changes in the internal organs of the organism.
- They are due to the physiological conditions of the various visceral organs, e.g.,
stomach, intestines, internal sex mechanisms, and kidney. The throat, lungs, and heart
are non-visceral structures.

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Types of Sensation:
1. Organic sensations -
- They are called the ‘barometer of our life process’, because they inform us of the sound or unsound
conditions of the body.
- They have a tendency to blend into one another, and fuse into a mass.
- They are not so clearly distinguishable from one another as special sensations such as colours, sounds,
etc., are.
- They cannot be easily revived. It is very difficult to remember the sensations of hunger and thirst. But
special sensations can be easily remembered.
- They have a high degree of emotive value. They are important conditions of our happiness and misery.
Sensations of comfort and discomfort, physical well-being and uneasiness deeply affect our happiness
and misery.

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Types of Sensation:
2. Special sensations - Sensations of colours, sounds, tastes, smells, temperature, pressure, etc., are special sensations.
- They have special sense-organs, e. g, the eye, the ear, the tongue, the nose, and the skin. They are produced by special kinds
of external stimuli, e.g., light waves, air waves, etc.
- They are clearly distinguishable from one another.
- They are capable of localization. They can be referred to definite points of space on the body or in the external world.
- They have great cognitive value. They give us knowledge of the qualities of external objects. Sensations of colours, sounds,
tastes, smells, heat, cold and pressure reveal to us the sensible qualities of external objects. They are the raw material of our
knowledge of the external world.
- They admit of a greater variety of kinds and degrees than organic and motor sensations. There are various kinds of visual,
auditory, cutaneous, olfactory and gustatory sensations.

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Types of Sensation:
3. Motor sensations -
- The kinaesthetic sense means the sensation of movement.
- Motor sensations have a high cognitive value. They give us knowledge of the fundamental
properties of matter, e.g., extension, impenetrability, position, distance, direction and weights of
things. Muscle sensations from the eye are of great help to us in the judgement of the distance,
size, and shape of objects seen.
- Motor sensations have also a great affective value. Muscular exercise is a source of pleasure and
pain. Pleasure of health depends, to a large extent, on the state of the muscles. Thus motor
sensations have cognitive and affective value.

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- Sensation and Receptors
The sight of a breathtaking sunset, the pleasant fragrance of a summer rose, the smooth texture of a baby’s
skin, the sharp “crack” of a starter’s pistol at the beginning of a race: Exactly how are we able to experience these
events. As you may recall from Chapter 2, all of these sensory experiences are based on complex processes
occurring within the nervous system. This highlights an intriguing paradox: Although we are continually
bombarded by various forms of physical energy, including light, heat, sound, and smells, our brain cannot directly
detect the presence of these forces. Instead, it can respond only to intricate patterns of action potentials conducted
by neurons, special cells within our bodies that receive, move, and process sensory information. Thus, a critical
question is how the many forms of physical energy impacting our sensory systems are converted into signals our
nervous system can understand.

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1. Transduction: The translation of a physical energy into electrical signals by
specialized receptor cells.
2. Sensory receptors: Cells of the body specialized for the task of
transduction–converting physical energy (light, sound) into neural impulses.

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-
How much physical stimulation is necessary in order for us to experience

a sensation?

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How much physical stimulation is necessary in order for us to experience

a sensation?

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- Absolute threshold: The smallest amount of a stimulus that we can detect
50 percent of the time.
Sensory thresholds are not really fixed but instead change in response to a
variety of factors, including fatigue, lapses in attention, and moment-to-moment
fluctuations that occur within our nervous system. Additional research suggests
that motivational factors, or the rewards or costs associated with detecting
various stimuli, may also play an important role.

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- Signal Detection Theory: A theory suggesting that there are no absolute
thresholds for sensations. Rather, detection of stimuli depends on their
physical energy and on internal factors such as the relative costs and benefits
associated with detecting their presence. (Erev, 1998; Swets, 1992).

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- Signal Detection Theory:
For instance, imagine that you are a radiologist. While scanning a patient’s X-ray, you think you detect a faint
spot on the film, but you’re not quite sure. What should you do? If you conclude that the spot is an abnormality,
you must order more scans or tests—an expensive and time-consuming alternative. If further testing reveals an
abnormality, such as cancer, you may have saved the patient’s life. If no abnormality is detected, though, you’ll be
blamed for wasting resources and unnecessarily upsetting the patient. Alternatively, if you decide the spot is not an
abnormality, then there’s no reason to order more tests. If the patient remains healthy, then you’ve done the right
thing. However, if the spot is really cancerous tissue, the results could be fatal. Clearly, your decision is likely to be
influenced by the rewards and costs associated with each choice alternative.

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- Difference threshold: The amount by which two stimuli must differ in order
to be just noticeably different (example of cooking - salt)
- Just Noticeable Difference (jnd): The smallest amount of change in a
physical stimulus necessary for an individual to notice a difference in the
intensity of the stimulus

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- Subliminal Perception: The presumed ability to perceive a stimulus that is
below the threshold for conscious experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS_kKbIL4dY

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- Sensory Adaptation - Reduced sensitivity to unchanging stimuli over time

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Receptors involved in each sensation
VISION

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VISION
Cornea: The curved transparent layer through which light rays

enter the eye.
Sclera: protective covering of eyeball, white layer.
Pupil: An opening in the eye, just behind the cornea, through

which light rays enter the eye.
Iris: The colored part of the eye; adjusts the amount of light that
enters by constricting or dilating the pupil.
Lens: A curved structure behind the pupil that bends light rays,
focusing them on the retina.

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VISION
Retina: The surface at the back of the eye containing the rods and
cones.
Cones: Sensory receptors in the eye that play a crucial role in

sensations of colour.
Rods: One of the two types of sensory receptors for vision found in the
eye.
Fovea: The area in the center of the retina in which cones are highly
concentrated.
Macula: an oval yellowish area surrounding the fovea near the centre
of the retina in the eye, which is the region of keenest vision.

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VISION
Optic Nerve: A bundle of nerve fibers that

exit the back of the eye and carry visual
information to the brain.
Blind Spot: The point in the back of the

retina through which the optic nerve exits
the eye. This exit point contains no rods or
cones and is therefore insensitive to light.
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VISION
https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=uuWb1L2Vwsk

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VISION

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VISION
Light!
- It is the physical stimulus for vision.

- Visible light is only a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
- This spectrum ranges from radio waves at the slow or long-wave end
to cosmic rays at the fast or short-wave end.

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VISION

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VISION
Light!
- Certain properties of light contribute to our psychological experience:

- Wavelength, the distance between successive peaks and valleys of light energy, determines
what we experience as hue = The color that we experience due to the dominant wavelength
of a light
- As the wavelength increases from about 400 to 700 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth
of a meter), our sensations shift from violet through blue (shorter wavelengths), green,
yellow, orange (medium wavelengths), and finally red (longer wavelengths).
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VISION
Light!
- The intensity of light, the amount of energy it contains, is experienced as brightness.

- The extent to which light contains only one wavelength, rather than many, determines our
experience of saturation (The degree of concentration of the hue of light. We experience
saturation as the purity of a colour); the fewer the number of wavelengths mixed together,
the more saturated or “pure” a color appears.
- For example, the deep red of an apple is highly saturated, whereas the pale pink of an apple
blossom is low in saturation.
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VISION
Basic Functions of the Visual System: Sensitivity to light
- The human visual system is highly sensitive and can detect even tiny amounts of light.
- Acuity: important aspect of vision, the ability to resolve fine details. They are of 2 types:
i. Static Visual Acuity (SVA) = our ability to discriminate different objects when they are
stationary or static, as on the familiar chart at an eye doctor’s office.
ii. Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA) = our ability to resolve detail when the test object and/or
the viewer is in motion.
BANKING INNOVATIONS
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VISION
Basic Functions of the Visual System:
- Angular velocity = speed at which an object’s image moves across our retina.
- If angular velocity increases - our ability to discriminate objects decreases.

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VISION
Basic Functions of the Visual System:
- If you wear spectacles…

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VISION
Basic Functions of the Visual System: Distance and Sight
- Nearsightedness = If your eyeball is too long or the cornea is too stiffly curved. You see
near objects clearly, but distant objects appear blurry. This occurs because the image
entering your eye is focused slightly in front of the retina rather than directly on it.
- Farsightedness = your eyeball is too short or the cornea too flat, and the lens focuses the
image behind the retina. Therefore, close objects appear out of focus, whereas distant objects
are in clear focus.
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VISION
Basic Functions of the Visual System: Sensitivity to light
- Dark adaptation = The process through which our visual system increases its sensitivity to
light under low levels of illumination. For example - ?
- The dark-adapted eye is about 100,000 times more sensitive to light than the light-adapted
eye.
- Dark adaptation is a two step process: First, within five to ten minutes, the cones reach
their maximum sensitivity. After about ten minutes, the rods begin to adapt; they complete
this process in about thirty minutes
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VISION
Basic Functions of the Visual System: Eye movements
- Eye movements are of two basic types:

● Version movements - in which the eyes move together in the same direction,
● Vergence movements - in which the lines of sight for the two eyes converge or diverge
- Three types of version movements are involuntary movements, saccadic movements, and
pursuit movements

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VISION
- Involuntary eye movements = without our conscious control, These movements ensure that
the stimuli reaching our rods and cones are constantly changing.
- Like other sensory receptors, those in our retina are subject to the effects of sensory
adaptation; if involuntary movements did not occur, we would experience temporary
blindness whenever we fixed our gaze on any object for more than a few seconds.

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VISION
- Saccadic movements are fast, frequent jumps by the eyes from one fixation point to the next.
- Saccadic movements are apparent in reading or driving.
- Both the size of the jumps and the region seen during each fixation maximize the information we glean while
reading
- The saccadic movements of good readers move smoothly across the materials being read; those of poor
readers are shorter and move backward as well as forward (Schiffman, 1990).
- Research suggests that characteristics of words tend to guide the location and duration of each fixation.
Fixations tend to be shortest for short, predictable words that occur frequently (Reichle et al., 1998).

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VISION
- Pursuit movements = are smooth movements used to track moving objects, as when you
watch a plane fly overhead and out of sight

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VISION
Color Vision
- Nearly 8 percent of males and 0.4 percent of females are less sensitive than the rest of us
either to red and green or to yellow and blue (Nathans, 1989).
- Few individuals are totally color blind, experiencing the world only in varying shades of
black and gray.
- Color difference in two eyes. Eg: a woman indicated that to her color-impaired eye, all
colors between red and green appeared yellow, while all colors between green and violet
seemed blue.
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VISION
Color Vision
- There are two leading theories to explain our rich sense of color.
- The first:
1. Trichromatic theory = suggests that we have three different types of cones in our retina,
each of which is maximally sensitive, though not exclusively so, to a particular range of
light wavelengths—a range roughly corresponding to blue (400–500 nanometers), green
(475–600 nanometers), or red (490–650 nanometers).
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VISION
Color Vision
- Careful study of the human retina suggests that we do possess three types of receptors, although, there is a great
deal of overlap among the three types’ sensitivity ranges (DeValois & De Valois, 1975; Rushton, 1975).
- According to trichromatic theory, the ability to perceive colors results from the joint action of the three receptor
types.
- Thus, light of a particular wavelength produces differential stimulation of each receptor type, and it is the overall
pattern of stimulation that produces our rich sense of color.
- This differential sensitivity may be due to genes that direct different cones to produce pigments sensitive to blue,
green, or red (Nathans, Thomas, & Hogness, 1986)

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VISION
Color Vision
- Trichromatic theory, however, fails to account for certain aspects of color

vision, such as the occurrence of negative afterimages— sensations of
complementary colors that occur after one stares at a stimulus of a given color.
- For example, after you stare at a red object, if you shift your gaze to a neutral
background, sensations of green may follow. Similarly, after you stare at a
yellow stimulus, sensations of blue may occur.
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VISION
Color Vision
- The opponent-process theory suggests that we possess specialized cells that

play a role in sensations of color (DeValois & DeValois, 1975).
- Two of these cells, for example, handle red and green: One is stimulated by
red light and inhibited by green light, whereas the other is stimulated by green
light and inhibited by red. This is where the phrase opponent process
originates.
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VISION
Color Vision
- Two additional types of cells handle yellow and blue; one is stimulated by yellow and inhibited
by blue, while the other shows the opposite pattern.
- The remaining two types handle black and white—again, in an opponent-process manner.
- Opponent-process theory can help explain the occurrence of negative afterimages (Jameson &
Hurvich, 1989).
- The idea is that when stimulation of one cell in an opponent pair is terminated, the other is
automatically activated. Thus, if the original stimulus viewed was yellow, the afterimage seen
would be blue.
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VISION
How the brain processes visual

information?

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VISION
How does the brain process visual information?
- Technically it is only light that enters our eyes—we really see with our brains!
- Our understanding of the initial stages of this process was greatly advanced by
the Nobel Prize–winning series of studies conducted by Hubel and Wiesel
(1979) = FEATURE DETECTION THEORY

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VISION
- These researchers conducted studies on feature detectors— neurons at various levels in the visual cortex.
- Their work revealed the existence of three types of feature detectors:
1. One group of neurons, known as simple cells, respond to bars or lines presented in certain orientations (horizontal, vertical,
and so on).
2. A second group, complex cells, respond maximally to moving stimuli, such as a vertical bar moving from left to right or a
tilted bar moving from right to left.
3. Finally, hypercomplex cells respond to even more complex features of the visual world, including length, width, and even
aspects of shape such as corners and angles.
- These findings led scientists to the intriguing possibility that the brain processes visual information hierarchically.

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VISION
- Consistent with this view, research using brain-imaging techniques (e.g., PET
scans) has confirmed that various regions within the cortex are highly
specialized to process only certain types of visual information—one region for
color, another for brightness, yet another for motion, and so on.
- In fact, more than thirty distinct areas that process visual information have
been identified (Felleman & Van Essen, 1991).
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VISION
- Blindsight: A rare condition resulting from damage to the primary visual

cortex in which individuals report beings blind, yet respond to certain aspects
of visual stimuli as if they could see.
- Prosopagnosia: A rare condition in which brain damage impairs a person’s
ability to recognize faces
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VISION
- The visual system is quite selective; certain types of visual stimuli stand a greater chance of reaching
the brain and undergoing further processing.
- Second, because nature is rarely wasteful, the existence of cells specially equipped to detect certain
features of the external world suggests that these features may be the building blocks for many
complex visual abilities, including reading and identifying subtly varied visual patterns such as faces.
- Finally, as illustrated by disorders such as blindsight and prosopagnosia, “seeing” the world is a
complex process—one that requires precise integration across many levels of our visual system

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HEARING

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HEARING
The haunting melody of a beautiful song, the roar of a jet plane, the rustling of leaves on a
crisp autumn day— clearly, we live in a world full of sound. And, as with vision, human
beings are well equipped to receive many sounds in their environment.

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HEARING

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HEARING
- Pinna: is the technical term for the visible part of our
hearing organ, the ear.
- The eardrum, a thin piece of tissue just inside the ear,
moves ever so slightly in response to sound waves striking
it.
- When it moves, the eardrum causes three tiny bones within
the middle ear to vibrate. (Malleus, Incus, Stapes)
- The third of these bones is attached to a second membrane,
the oval window, which covers a fluid-filled, spiral-shaped
structure known as the cochlea.

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HEARING
- Vibration of the oval window causes movements of the
fluid in the cochlea.
- Finally, the movement of fluid bends tiny hair cells,
the true sensory receptors of sound.
- The neural messages they create are then transmitted
to the brain via the auditory nerve.

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HEARING
Sound!
- Sound waves consist of alternating compressions of the air, or, more precisely, of the molecules that compose air.
- The greater the amplitude (magnitude) of these waves, the greater their loudness to us.
- The rate at which air is expanded and contracted constitutes the frequency of a sound wave, and the greater the frequency,
the higher the pitch.
- Pitch: The characteristic of a sound that is described as high or low. Pitch is mediated by the frequency of a sound.
- Frequency is measured in terms of cycles per second, or hertz (Hz).
- Children and young adults can generally hear sounds ranging from about 20 Hz to about 20,000 Hz. Older adults
progressively lose sensitivity, particularly for higher sound frequencies. The human ear is most sensitive to sounds with
frequencies between 1,000 and 5,000 Hz (Coren, Ward, & Enns, 1999)

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HEARING
Sound!
- A third psychological aspect of sound is its timbre, or quality. This quality depends on the
mixture of frequencies and amplitudes that make up the sound.
- For example, a piece of chalk squeaking across a blackboard may have the same pitch and
amplitude as a note played on a clarinet, but it will certainly have a different quality.
- In general, the timbre of a sound is related to its complexity—how many different frequencies it
contains.
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HEARING
Pitch Perception
- When we tune a guitar or sing in harmony with other people, we demonstrate our ability to
detect differences in pitch. Most of us can easily tell when two sounds have the same pitch and
when they are different.
- But how do we manage to make such fine distinctions?

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HEARING
Pitch Perception - Place theory/Travelling Wave Theory
- Suggests that sounds of different frequencies cause different places along the basilar membrane (the floor of the
cochlea) to vibrate. These vibrations, in turn, stimulate the hair cells—the sensory receptors for sound.
- Actual observations have shown that sound does produce pressure waves and that these waves peak, or produce
maximal displacement, at various distances along the basilar membrane, depending on the frequency of the sound
(Békésy, 1960).
- High-frequency sounds cause maximum displacement at the narrow end of the basilar membrane near the oval
window, whereas lower frequencies cause maximal displacement toward the wider, farther end of the basilar
membrane.

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HEARING
Pitch Perception - Place theory/Travelling Wave Theory
- CONS: Unfortunately, place theory does not explain our ability to discriminate among very
low-frequency sounds—sounds of only a few hundred cycles per second—because displacement
on the basilar membrane is nearly identical for these sounds.
- Another problem is that place theory does not account for our ability to discriminate among
sounds whose frequencies differ by as little as 1 or 2 Hz; for these sounds, too, basilar membrane
displacement is nearly identical.
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HEARING
Pitch Perception - Frequency Theory
- Suggests that sounds of different pitch cause different rates of neural firing.
- Thus, high-pitched sounds produce high rates of activity in the auditory nerve, whereas
low-pitched sounds produce lower rates.
- Frequency theory seems to be accurate up to sounds of about 1,000 Hz—the maximum rate of
firing for individual neurons.

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HEARING
Pitch Perception - Frequency Theory
- Above that level, the theory must be modified to include the volley principle—the assumption
that sound receptors for other neurons begin to fire in volleys.
- For example, a sound with a frequency of 5,000 Hz might generate a pattern of activity in which
each of five groups of neurons fires 1,000 times in rapid succession—that is, in volleys.

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HEARING
Sound Localization
- You are walking down a busy street, filled with many sights and sounds. Suddenly, a familiar
voice calls your name. You instantly turn in the direction of this sound and spot one of your
friends.
How do you know where to turn?

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HEARING
Sound Localization
- Localization: the ability of our auditory system to determine the direction of a sound source.
- This theory suggests that there are several factors that play a role in this theory:
1. The first is the fact that we have two ears, placed on opposite sides of our head.
- As a result, our head creates a sound shadow, a barrier that reduces the intensity of sound on the
“shadowed” side.
- Thus, a sound behind us and to our left will be slightly louder in our left ear.
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HEARING
Sound Localization
- What happens when sound comes from directly in front or directly in back of us?
-
- In such cases, we often have difficulty determining the location of the sound source, because the sound
reaches our ears at the same time.
- Head movements can help resolve a problem like this.
- By turning your head, you create a slight difference in the time it takes for the sound to reach each of
your ears—and now you can determine the location of the sound and take appropriate action (Moore,
1982).

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HEARING
Sound Localization
- What happens when sound comes from directly in front or directly in back of us?
-
- In such cases, we often have difficulty determining the location of the sound source, because the sound
reaches our ears at the same time.
- Head movements can help resolve a problem like this.
- By turning your head, you create a slight difference in the time it takes for the sound to reach each of
your ears—and now you can determine the location of the sound and take appropriate action (Moore,
1982).

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
TOUCH AND
OTHER SKIN SENSES

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
TOUCH AND OTHER SKIN SENSES
The skin is our largest sensory organ and produces the most varied experiences: everything from the
pleasure of a soothing massage to the pain of an injury. Actually, there are several skin senses, including touch
(or pressure), warmth, cold, and pain. As there are specific sensory receptors for vision and hearing, it seems
reasonable to expect this also to be true for the various skin senses as well—one type of receptor for touch,
another for warmth, and so on. And microscopic examination reveals several different receptor types, which led
early researchers to suggest that each receptor type produced a specific sensory experience.
However, the results of research conducted to test this prediction were disappointing; specific types of
receptors were not found at spots highly sensitive to touch, warmth, or cold. Other studies have also shown that
many different types of receptors often respond to a particular stimulus. Therefore, the skin’s sensory experience
is probably determined by the total pattern of nerve impulses reaching the brain (Sherrick & Cholewiak, 1986)

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
SKIN SENSES - PAIN
- Why is pain important? - without it, we would be unaware that something is amiss
with our body or that we have suffered some type of injury.
- Pain has no specific stimulus
- sensations of pain do seem to originate in free nerve endings located throughout the
body: in the skin, around muscles, and in internal organs (Carlson, 1998).

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
SKIN SENSES - PAIN

- Two types of pain:
1. quick and sharp—the kind of pain we experience when we receive a cut,
transmitted through large myelinated sensory nerve fibers. (impulses travel faster
along myelinated fibers, and so it makes sense that sharp sensations of pain are
carried via these fiber types)
2. dull and throbbing—the pain we experience from a sore muscle or an injured
back, carried by smaller unmyelinated nerve fibers, which conduct neural impulses
more slowly
UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
SKIN SENSES - PAIN
● Gate Control Theory of Pain:

- Gate-control theory suggests that there are neural mechanisms in the spinal cord that sometimes close, thus
preventing pain messages from reaching the brain.
- Apparently, pain messages carried by the large fibers cause this “gate” to close, whereas messages carried by
the smaller fibers—the ones related to dull, throbbing pain—do not.
- . This may explain why sharp pain is relatively brief, whereas an ache persists.
- The gate-control theory also helps to explain why vigorously stimulating one area sometimes succeeds in
reducing pain in another (Matlin & Foley, 1997).
- Presumably, countermeasures such as rubbing the skin near an injury, applying ice packs or hot-water
bottles, and even acupuncture stimulate activity in the large nerve fibers, closing the spinal “gate” and
reducing sensations of pain.
UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
SKIN SENSES - PAIN
● Gate Control Theory of Pain:

- Gate-control theory has been revised to account for the importance of several brain mechanisms in the
perception of pain (Melzack, 1993).
- For example, our current emotional state may interact with the onset of a painful stimulus to alter the
intensity of pain we experience.
- The brain, in other words, may affect pain perception by transmitting messages that either close the spinal
“gate” or keep it open.
- The result: When we are anxious, pain is intensified; when we are calm and relaxed, pain may be reduced.
- Pain may be universal—at least in some respects—and that differences in pain perception result from the
powerful effects of social learning, not from physical differences among various groups of people.
UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
SMELL AND TASTE

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
SMELL AND TASTE
- Although smell and taste are separate senses, we’ll consider them together for two
reasons.
- First, both respond to substances in solution—substances that have been dissolved
in a fluid or gas, usually water or air. That is why smell and taste are often referred
to as the chemical senses.
- Second, in everyday life, smell and taste are interrelated.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
SMELL
- The stimulus for sensations of smell consists of molecules of various substances

(odorants) contained in the air.
- They enter the nasal passages, where they dissolve in moist nasal tissues - brings
them in contact with receptor cells contained in the olfactory epithelium.
- Human beings possess only about 50 million of these receptors. (Dogs, in contrast,
possess more than 200 million receptors.)

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
SMELL
- Our olfactory senses are restricted, however, in terms of the range of stimuli to which they
are sensitive.
- Just as the visual system can detect only a small portion of the total electromagnetic
spectrum, human olfactory receptors can detect only substances with molecular
weights—the sum of the atomic weights of all atoms in an odorous molecule—between 15
and 300 (Carlson, 1998).
- This explains why we can smell the alcohol contained in a mixed drink, with a molecular
weight of 46, but cannot smell table sugar, with a molecular weight of 342.
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INNOVATIONS
TASTE
- The sensory receptors for taste are located inside small bumps on the tongue known
as papillae.
- Within each papilla is a cluster of taste buds. Each taste bud contains several
receptor cells.
- Human beings possess about 10,000 taste buds. In contrast, chickens have only 24,
while catfish would win any “taste bud–counting contest”—they possess more than
175,000, scattered over the surface of their body. In a sense, catfish can “taste” with
their entire skin! (Pfaffmann, 1978)
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INNOVATIONS
TASTE
- There appear to be only four basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.
Why, then, do we perceive many more?
- The answer lies in the fact that we are aware not only of the taste of the food but of
its smell, its texture, its temperature, the pressure it exerts on our tongue and mouth,
and many other sensations. When these factors are removed from the picture, only
the four basic tastes remain
UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
KINESTHESIA AND
VESTIBULAR SENSE

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
KINESTHESIA AND VESTIBULAR SENSE

- Kinesthesia is the sense that gives us information about the location of our body parts with
respect to one another and allows us to perform movements—from simple ones like
touching our nose with our fingertips to more complex movements required for
gymnastics, dancing, or driving an automobile.
- Kinesthetic information comes from receptors in joints, ligaments, and muscle fibers
- Vestibular sense gives us information about body position, movement, and
acceleration—factors critical for maintaining our sense of balance
- We usually become aware of our vestibular sense after activities that make us feel dizzy,
like the rides at amusement parks that involve rapid acceleration or spinning motions.
UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
KINESTHESIA AND VESTIBULAR SENSE

- The sensory organs for the vestibular sense are located in the inner ear!
- Two fluid-filled vestibular sacs provide information about the body’s position in
relation to the earth by tracking changes in linear movement.
- When our body accelerates (or decelerates) along a straight line, as when we are in a
bus that is starting and stopping, or when we tilt our head or body to one side, hair
cells bend in proportion to the rate of change in our motion.
- This differential bending of hair cells causes attached nerve fibers to discharge
neural signals that are sent to the brain


UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Attention: Meaning and Phenomenon
ATTENTION
Before we begin exploring attention in its various forms, take a moment to consider
how you think about the concept. How would you define attention, or how do you use
the term? We certainly use the word very frequently in our everyday language:
“ATTENTION! USE ONLY AS DIRECTED!” warns the label on the medicine bottle,
meaning be alert to possible danger. “Pay attention!” pleads the weary seventh-grade
teacher, not warning about danger (with possible exceptions, depending on the teacher)
but urging the students to focus on the task at hand.
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INNOVATIONS
ATTENTION
When you walk through a busy street, a large number of stimuli bombard your sense
organs, but you can take in and use only a very small number of stimuli. For example, a
number of people criss-cross each other wearing different colour dresses, cars and
buses pass through on the nearby road, shops and buildings also attract your attention.
However, only a small and selected part of the available stimulation is registered by an
individual for processing and the rest is filtered out

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
ATTENTION
- The process of selectively responding to a stimulus or range of stimuli is called

attention.
- Thus, attention refers to all those processes by which we perceive selectively.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
ATTENTION

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
ATTENTION: DETERMINANTS
- External/Objective determinants
- Internal/Subjective determinants

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INNOVATIONS
These conditions are generally those characteristics of outside situation or stimuli which make the strongest
aid for capturing our attention. Types are:
1. Nature of stimuli
2. Intensity and size of stimuli
3. Contrast, change, variety
4. Repetition of stimulus
5. Movement of stimulus
6. Duration and degree of attention
UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
1. Nature of stimuli: All types of stimuli are not able to bring the same degree of
attention. A picture attracts attention more readily than words. Among the pictures,
the pictures of human beings invite more attention and those of human beings
related to beautiful women or handsome men, who attract more attention. In this
way an effective stimulus should always be chosen for capturing maximum
attention.
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INNOVATIONS
2. Intensity and Size of stimulus: In comparison with the weak stimulus, the immense
stimulus attracts more attention of an individual. Our attention become easily directed
towards a loud sound, a bright light or a strong smell, and also a large building will be
more readily attended to, than a small one.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
3. Contrast, Change and Variety: Change and variety strike attention more easily than
sameness and absence of change, e.g. we do not notice the ticking sound of a clock put
on the wall until it stops ticking, that is any change in the attention to which you have
been attracted immediately capture your attention. The factor, contact or change is
highly responsible for capturing attention of the organism and contributes more than the
intensity, size or nature of the stimulus.
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INNOVATIONS
4. Repetition of Stimulus: Repetition is the factor of great importance in securing

attention. Because one may ignore a stimulus at first instance, but if it is repeated for
several times it captures our attention, e.g. a miss-spelled word is more likely to be
noticed, if it occurs twice in the same paragraph than, if it occurs only once. While
giving lecture the important aspects of the speech are often repeated so that the
attention of the audience can be easily directed to the valuable points.
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INNOVATIONS
5. Movement of Stimulus: The moving stimulus catches our attention more quickly
than a stimulus that does not move. We are more sensitive to objects that move in our
field of vision, e.g. advertisers make use of this fact and try to catch the attention of
people through moving electric lights.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
6. Duration and Degree of Attention: People may possess the ability to grasp a number of
objects or in other words, to attend a number of stimuli in one short “presentation”. This ability
of an individual is evaluated in terms of the span of attention, which differs from person to
person and even situation to situation.
The term “span of attention” is designed in terms of the quality, size extent to which the
perceptual field of an individual can be effectively organized in order to enable him to attain a
number of things in a given spell of short duration.
UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
These factors predispose the individual to respond to objective factors, to attend to those
activities that fulfill his desires and motives and suit his interest and attitude. It is the mental
state of the perceiver. Types are:
1. Interest
2. Motive
3. Mindset
4. Moods and Attitudes
UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
1. Interest - Interest is said to be the mother of attention. We attend to objects in
which we have interest. We would like to watch a movie or a serial in TV because
we are interested in the subject around which the movie or serial revolves. In any
get-together if any subject of our interest is discussed that attracts our attention
easily and makes us to participate in the discussion. In our day-to-day life we pay
attention to the stimulus we are interested in.
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INNOVATIONS
2. Motives - Our basic needs and motives to a great extent, determine our attention,
thirst, hunger, sex, curiosity, fear are some of the important motives that influence
attention, e.g. small children get attracted towards eatables.

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INNOVATIONS
3. Mindset- Person’s readiness to respond determines his attention. If we are expecting

a stimulus, occurrence of that stimulus along with many other stimuli may not come in
the way of attending to that particular stimulus. At a time when students are expecting
the examination time table by the end of the semester the time table put out on the
notice board along with other notices would attract their attention easily.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
4. Moods and Attributes- What we attend to is influenced by the moods and attitudes.
When we are disturbed or in angry mood, we notice the smallest mistake of others very
easily. Likewise our favourable and unfavourable attitudes also determine our attention.
After discussing subjective and objective factors, we realize that these factors are
interrelated. How much or in what way we attend to a stimulus depends on subjective
as well as objective factors.


UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Perception: Meaning and Characteristics
PERCEPTION

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
PERCEPTION
- The process by which we recognise, interpret or give meaning to the information provided
by sense organs is called perception.
- In interpreting stimuli or events, individuals often construct them in their own ways.
- Thus perception is not merely an interpretation of objects or events of the external or internal
world as they exist, instead it is also a construction of those objects and events from one’s own
point of view.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
PERCEPTION
- Sensation is the stage where neural activity codes the information about the nature of
stimulation. Perception is the next stage in which an internal representation of an object is
formed.
- This representation provides a working description of the perceiver's external environment.
Perception involves synthesis of simple sensory features into the perception of an object
that can be recognized.
- This helps in identification and recognition, and meaning is assigned to the percepts.
- Perception and recognition are combined processes that do not act separately. For example a
circular object may be a cricket ball or orange.
UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
PERCEPTION
- The physical object in the world is called the distal stimulus (distant from the observer)
and the optical image on the retina is called the proximal stimulus (proximate or near to
observer).
- The major task of perception is to determine the distal stimulus based on information of
proximal stimulus – to know what the world out there is “really like” using one’s
imagination of mind.
- There is more to perceiving which includes physical properties such as shape or size and
past experiences.
UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
PERCEPTION: CHARACTERISTICS
1. Perception is a selective process:
- We do not perceive each and everything in the world or around us. We attend to only
a part of the stimuli around us.
- We select only a limited range of stimuli to which we attend.
- Attention is a basic process in perception. It makes our perception selective in
nature.
- What we select would depend upon our needs, interests, and motives or on the
nature of stimuli to which we are exposed

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
2. Perception requires sensation:
- Perception is intimately related to sensation.

- In order for perception to occur, we must first experience some sensation.

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INNOVATIONS
3. Perception involves organization:
- Perception is not merely a collection of present sensations and memory traces of

past experiences.
- It is a meaningful and integrated organization of past and present knowledge..

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
4. Perception involves past experience:
- Perception involves past experience also.

- The present information can be meaningfully understood only when we integrate our
past and interpret it in terms of present or future consequences

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INNOVATIONS
5. Change is the basis of perception:
- Perception is always a response to some change or difference in the environment.

- If the world were uniformly the same we would experience no perception.
- E.g., change in the weather, style of dress, food, etc. is easily perceived.
- Any change in the normal routine is perceived quickly

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
6. Perception is objective as well as subjective:
- We all perceive certain things as the same e.g., table, chair, etc. are perceived by
every one of us in a more or less similar manner. This is objective perception.
- In many cases our perception is considerably influenced by our thoughts, motives,

interests, etc. Such perception is subjective in nature, e.g., an ambiguous event may
be perceived differently by different individuals

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INNOVATIONS
7. Perception has affective aspect:
- Our perception often induces emotions in us.

- When we perceive an old friend we feel happy.
- When we perceive a snake we are afraid.
- Thus, perception produces feelings and emotions.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Perception: Laws of Gestalt Perceptual Organization
PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION
- Perception is an organized process.

- The most common form of perceptual organization is called figure ground
organization in which sensations are grouped into objects or figures that stand out
on a planer background

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
- Look at the image here:
Do you see two

faces or a vase?

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
- The Gestalt psychologists in Germany, principally Kohler, Koffka, and Wertheimer,

proposed that the brain has the innate capacity for organizing perceptions.
- They identified the laws of organization which determine the way in which we
perceive the objects.
- They maintain that electrical fields in the brain are responsible for the organization
of perception.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
LAWS OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION
1. Law of Similarity:
- The law of similarity states that similar things tend to appear grouped together.
- Grouping can occur in both visual and auditory stimuli.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
3. Law of Proximity:
- According to the law of proximity, things that are close together seem more related
than things that are spaced farther apart.
- Because the objects are close to each other, we group them together.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
4. Law of Continuity:
- The law of continuity holds that points that are connected by straight or curving
lines are seen in a way that follows the smoothest path.
- In other words, elements in a line or curve seem more related to one another than
those positioned randomly

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
5. Law of Closure:
- According to the law of closure, we perceive elements as belonging to the same

group if they seem to complete some entity.
- Our brains often ignore contradictory information and fill in gaps in information. L

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
6. Law of Common Region:
- The Gestalt law of common region says that when elements are located in the same
closed region, we perceive them as belonging to the same group.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
6. Law of Common Region:
- The Gestalt law of common region says that when elements are located in the same
closed region, we perceive them as belonging to the same group.



UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Perceptual Constancies
PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCIES
- Try this simple demonstration. Hold your right hand in front of you at arm’s length.
Next, move it toward and away from your face several times.
- Does it seem to change in size? Probably not.
- The purpose of this demonstration is to illustrate principles of perceptual
constancies
Constancies: Our tendency to perceive physical objects as unchanging despite shifts in

the pattern of sensations these objects induce.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
1. Size Constancy: The tendency to perceive a physical object as having a constant size
even when the size of the image it casts on the retina changes.
- Distant objects—including cars, trees, and people—cast tiny images on your retina.
Yet you perceive them as being of normal size.
- Two factors seem to account for this tendency: size–distance invariance and relative
size

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
1. Size Constancy:
- Size–distance invariance: when estimating the size of an object, we take into

account both the size of the image it casts on our retina and the apparent distance of
the object. From these data we almost instantly calculate the object’s size. Only
when the cues that normally reveal an object’s distance are missing do we run into
difficulties in estimating the object’s size.
- Relative Size: A visual cue based on comparison of the size of an unknown object to
objects of known size.

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INNOVATIONS
2. Shape Constancy: The tendency to perceive a physical object as having a constant

shape even when the image it casts on the retina changes
- For example, all of us know that coins are round; yet we rarely see them that way.
Flip a coin into the air: Although you continue to perceive the coin as being round,
the image that actually falls onto your retina constantly shifts from a circle to
various forms of an ellipse.

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INNOVATIONS
3. Brightness Constancy: The tendency to perceive objects as having a constant

brightness when they are viewed under different conditions of illumination.
- Thus, we will perceive a sweater as dark green whether indoors or outdoors in bright
sunlight.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Depth Perception
DEPTH PERCEPTION
- It is the ability to see three-dimensional space and to accurately judge distances.

- Without depth perception you can’t ride on a motorcycle, or drive a car, catch a ball,
thread a needle or simply walk around a room.
- The world would look like a flat surface.
- The ability of depth perception is partly innate and partly learned.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Depth Perception
DEPTH PERCEPTION
- Depth cues are features of the environment and messages from the body that supply
information about distance and space.
- The cues which work with just one eye are called monocular cues and those which
require two eyes are called binocular cues.
- Binocular cues are the most basic source of depth perception that is caused due to
retinal disparity (a discrepancy in the images that reach the right and left eyes).
- A person with one eye will have very limited depth perception.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Depth Perception
DEPTH PERCEPTION
- Monocular cues are as follows:
1. Size cues: The larger the image of an object on the retina, the larger it is judged to
be; in addition, if an object is larger than other objects, it is often perceived as
closer.
2. Linear perspective: Parallel lines appear to converge in the distance; the greater this
effect, the farther away an object appears to be.
3. Texture gradient: The texture of a surface appears smoother as distance increases
4. Atmospheric perspective: The farther away objects are, the less distinctly they are
seen—smog, dust, haze get in the way.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Depth Perception
DEPTH PERCEPTION
- Monocular cues are as follows:
5. Overlap (or interposition): If one object overlaps another, it is seen as being closer
than the one it covers.
6. Motion parallax: When we travel in a vehicle, objects far away appear to move in
the same direction as the observer, whereas close objects move in the opposite
direction. Objects at different distances appear to move at different velocities.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Depth Perception
DEPTH PERCEPTION
- Binocular cues are as follows:
1. Convergence: In order to see close objects, our eyes turn inward, toward one
another; the greater this movement, the closer such objects appear to be.
2. Retinal disparity (binocular parallax): Our two eyes observe objects from slightly
different positions in space; the difference between these two images is interpreted
by our brain to provide another cue to depth.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Depth Perception
DEPTH PERCEPTION
- Pictorial cues for depth are features found in paintings, drawings and photographs
that impart information about space, depth and distance.
- This influence causes apparent perception of things which are not there.
- For example, if you stand between two railway tracks, they appear to meet at the
horizon, even though they actually remain parallel.



UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
Errors in Perception
PERCEPTION ERRORS
Our perceptions are subjected to multiple morphing mechanisms.

Hallucinations and illusions are two such specific forms of perception alterations
commonly experienced by people.
The meaning of these two episodic experiences is often confused and the two
terms are used interchangeably.
However, potent differences exist between them in terms of the origin of the
stimuli, the reality of its existence, the repercussions of these episodes as well as
the symbolic representation of such experiences.

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INNOVATIONS
PERCEPTION ERRORS: ILLUSIONS

- Illusions are misinterpreted perceptions.
- The stimuli or objects of such perceptions are real, but their interpretation is
flawed.
- Illusions are produced when our sensory organs misinterpret external stimuli.
- These episodes may be classified into different categories of visual, olfactory,
cognitive, optical and geometric illusions.
- Psychologists have studied illusions to understand the operation of the human
perceptual system.
- The perception of certain events in an erroneous manner can lead to the
development of illusions.
- Overstimulation of sensory organs may also result in illusions.

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INNOVATIONS
- When a discrepancy occurs between the varieties of information relayed

through our multiple sensory organs, illusionary episodes are commonly
experienced.
- Here the facts of corporeality are being misinterpreted by our cognitive
system.
- For instance, a child experiences an illusion when she interprets the shadows
in the dark as monsters or animals. This is an apt example of an illusion
caused by the improper interpretation of visual cues.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
- There are several types of illusions such as:
1. Horizontal- Vertical Illusion

2. Muller Lyer Illusion
3. Illusion of Movement

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INNOVATIONS
1. Horizontal - Vertical Illusion:
In 1858 Wilhelm Wundt introduced the horizontal-vertical illusion. In this

illusion, a vertical line appears up to 30% (according to Wundt) longer than a
horizontal line of the same exact length:
https://elvers.us/perception/hv/#:~:text=In%201858%20Wilhelm%20Wundt%20introduced%20the%20horizo
ntal%2Dvertical%20illusion.

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INNOVATIONS

2. Muller Lyer Illusion
The Müller-Lyer illusion is an optical illusion where two lines of the same length appear
to be of different lengths.
A German psychologist named Franz Carl Müller-Lyer created the illusion in 1889. In
the original version, he asked people to mark where they thought the midpoint of the
line was to gauge if they perceived the lines as being different lengths

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INNOVATIONS

2. Muller Lyer Illusion - reasons
a. Size Constancy Scaling: According to psychologist Richard Gregory, the
Müller-Lyer illusion happens because of a misapplication of size constancy scaling.
In most cases, size constancy lets us perceive objects in a stable way by taking
distance into account.
In the three-dimensional world we live in, this principle allows us to perceive a tall
person as being tall whether they are standing next to us or off in the distance.
When we apply this same principle to two-dimensional objects, Gregory suggests
that errors can crop up.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS

b. Depth Cue Explanation: Depth plays an important role in our ability to judge
distance.
When the fins are pointing inward toward the shaft of the line, we see it as
sloping away like the corner of a building. This depth cue leads us to see the line
as being further away and therefore shorter.
When the fins are pointing outward away from the line, it looks more like the
corner of a room sloping toward us. This depth cue leads us to believe that the
line is closer and therefore longer.

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INNOVATIONS
c. Conflicting Cues Explanation: Our ability to perceive the length of the lines
depends on the actual length of the line and the overall length of the figure. Since
the total length of one figure is longer than the length of the lines themselves, it
causes us to see the line with the outward-facing fins as longer.

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INNOVATIONS

2. Muller Lyer Illusion - cultural differences!
- Research has shown that people from different cultures have different perceptions of the
Müller-Lyer illusion—and some people don’t seem to “fall” for it at all. For example, in the
early 20th century, researchers discovered that indigenous people from the Murray Islands
in Australia were less likely to see the lines as being different lengths than Europeans.
- In the 1960s, researchers looking at how culture influences perception used the Müller-Lyer
to show that people who live in places with more rectangular structures might be more
susceptible to the illusion than people living in places that have fewer edges and straight
lines
- Later studies that looked at people living in rural vs. more urban areas supported the idea
that seeing a lot of these rectangular structures might affect how they perceived the
Müller-Lyer illusion

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
- Illusory motion is an optical illusion where elements of a static image appear

to be in motion.
- It occurs due to the cognitive effects of interacting color contrasts, object
shapes, and position.

due to the cognitive effects of
due to thecolor
UNIT cognitive effects of AND
BANKING INNOVATIONS PERCEPTION
interacting
interacting
shapes,
III:
and color
SENSATION
contrasts, object
contrasts, object
position.
shapes,
Errors andinposition.
Perception
- Illusory motion is an optical illusion where elements of a static image appear

to be in motion.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
PERCEPTION ERRORS: HALLUCINATIONS
- Hallucinations are caused by the perception of objects that do not exist.

Originating from the Greek word ‘hallucinat’, they are defined as false
perceptions caused by malfunctioning of the central nervous system.
- They may present as symptoms of psychosis in an individual. Hallucinations
are often associated with diseases like Schizophrenia, Parkinson’s and
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- Such psychosensory disruptions can be both auditory as well as visual
episodes. These experiences may often be defined as ‘voices’ by the
individual experiencing them.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
- Olfactory and somatic hallucinations are also common. The former refers to
smelling something that is not present in the corporal world and the latter
refers to a feeling that one’s body is being injured. An individual may feel his
skin crawling as part of a hallucinatory episode or he may see patterns or
objects where there are none.

UNIT III: SENSATION
INNOVATIONS
- Three essential grounds that have to be satisfied for an episode to be classified

as a hallucination.
- These conditions are:
1. the object of the episode has to be unreal;
2. the episode has to produce a sensory experience; and finally,
3. the individual experiencing the hallucination has to be convinced of its
contextual reality.



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FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY

UNIT III – Sensation, Attention, and Perception

Ms. Sharon Vas

● Sensation: Definition and Characteristics.

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

such as bright sunlight, will stimulate many more receptors.

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

3. Contrast—the effect of a previous or simultaneous sensation on a current sensation, which

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

4. Adaptation—becoming unaware of a continuing stimulus.

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

● Sensation: Definition and Characteristics.

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- They are clearly distinguishable from one another.

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- Sensation and Receptors

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- Sensation and Receptors

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- Sensation and Receptors

How much physical stimulation is necessary in order for us to experience

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- Sensation and Receptors

How much physical stimulation is necessary in order for us to experience

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- Sensation and Receptors

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- Sensation and Receptors

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- Sensation and Receptors

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- Sensation and Receptors

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- Sensation and Receptors

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- Sensation and Receptors

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Cornea: The curved transparent layer through which light rays

Sclera: protective covering of eyeball, white layer.

Pupil: An opening in the eye, just behind the cornea, through

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Cones: Sensory receptors in the eye that play a crucial role in

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Optic Nerve: A bundle of nerve fibers that

Blind Spot: The point in the back of the

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

- It is the physical stimulus for vision.

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS

Ms. Sharon Vas // Assistant Professor of Psychology//Department of Science: Psychology // CAIAS