PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology

Lecture:2
Chapter 3: Sensation and Perception

Ms. Ashma Rahman

Lecturer
Department of History and Philosophy
 Agenda
1. Understanding sensation; Nature and
characteristics, and the concept of threshold
2. Understanding perception; definition, and
nature
3. Difference between sensation and perception
4. Understand how we perceive the world by
looking at the detailed process of perception
and discussing its steps.
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Our understanding of reality comes
from the collaboration of sensation
and perception
 Sensation
• Sensation is the process by which the sense
organs gather information about the
environment.
• It activates the sense organs by a source of
physical stimuli.
Physical stimuli/stimulus/outside energy ( that
produce a response/ activate the sense organ)
 Characteristics of sensation

1) The first stage of information processing

2) The sensory receptor transforms the energy
into neural impulses that the brain can
process.
3) The different sensory receptor is specialized to
respond to different types of stimulus.
4) The sensation is an automatic, passive, and
adaptable process
5) It has a sensory threshold
Stimulus and their sensory experience

Absolute threshold: The minimum amount of

energy/stimulation necessary to produce a
sensation.
The smallest intensity/ volume of a stimulus must
be present for the stimulus to be detected.
We have a limited capacity to concentrate on
several stimuli simultaneously.
The approximate absolute threshold for five
senses
Galanter,1962
Vision: on a dark, clear night, a candle's flame
can be seen from a distance of 30miles.
Hearing: Under calm conditions, the ticking of a
watch can be heard from 20 feet away.
Taste: The taste of 1 tablespoon of sugar can be
detected when dissolved in 2 gallons of water.
Smell: 1 drop of perfume can detect over the
area of 3 room apartment
Touch: one can detect the wing of a fly falling on
the cheek from a 1-centimeter distance.
Difference Threshold
The minimum change ( added/ reduced) in the
stimulus will enable a person to detect the
difference. It is also called the just noticeable
difference.
Weber found that it takes a 1-ounce increase in
50-ounce weight to make a noticeable
difference.
Sensory adaptation: an adjustment in the
sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to
constant stimuli.
 Perception
Perception is the process through which we
select and interpret the sensory input
received from the outside world through our
sensory organs.
The process of perception is divided into a few
stages: selection and interpretation (
analysis/understanding)
The Nature of Perception

1) The primary function of perception is to help

us make sense of sensory information.
2) Perception is partly determined by past history
and partly by the present attitude of the
perceiver.
3) The perception process is active.
4) Perception is more complex than sensation.
Difference between sensation and perception
1) The sensation is the peripheral process, while
perception is central
2) The sensation is comprised of disorganized and
raw information, whereas perception deals with
an organized category of information
3) The sensation is passive and simple, and
perception is a more complex and active process.
4) The sensation is unlearned where perception is
influenced by emotion, memory, attitude, etc.
Difference between sensation and
perception
 Steps involved in Perception
stages of perception:
• Selection
• Interpretation

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 The Selection of Stimulus for perception
The selection of perception depends on the process
of selective attention, where attention is placed
on a specific sensory stimulus and filtered out the
rest.

Selective attention depends on the stimulus’s size,

stability, quality, depth, and color. (calls the
stimulus factor)
It also depends on the person’s tendencies,
expectations, experience, and memory. (calls the
organismic factors)
Organization and Interpretation of Selected
information via top-down and bottom-up
process

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Figure ground
 Bottom-up processing
helps us to recognize the individual components
of a stimulus and then move to the perception
of the whole.
 Top-down

• This process guides the perception with

knowledge, expectation, motivation, and
experience. It helps us to put meaning to
ambiguous and out-of-context stimuli.
Both methods work simultaneously. One permits us
to get the fundamental characteristics of the
presented stimulus, and the other helps us bring
our idea for a proper understanding.
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