SENSATION AND

PERCEPTION
 WHAT IS SENSATION?
 Sensation is input about the physical world obtained by our
sensory receptors, Sensory receptors are specialized neurons
that respond to specific types of stimuli. When sensory
information is detected by a sensory receptor, sensation has
occurred.
 For example, light that enters the eye causes chemical
changes in cells that line the back of the eye. These cells relay
messages, in the form of action potentials , to the central
nervous system. The conversion from sensory stimulus energy
to action potential is known as transduction. Therefore, the 5 sense
organs which helps in collecting the information are: Eyes, ears, nose, tongue
and skin.
 NATURE OF SENSATION
The receptor mechanisms in the sense organs receive information and convert the physical
energy of stimuli to neural energy which is conveyed through sensory peripheral nervous
system to the sensory areas in brain for which we have the knowledge about the stimuli.
Sensation is the simplest mental activity that provides mere awareness of the stimulus
present in the environment.
Sensation is the primary process of knowing the object or sensing the object as it is the first
step in understanding the more higher order cognitive processes i.e thinking, problem
solving etc.
The process of sensation is very simple; any object present in the environment impinges on
the sense organs that respond producing nerve impulse followed by transmitting the same
to the sensory areas in the brain via spinal cord.
The process of sensation takes place when receptor cells of a sense organ are stimulated,
nerve impulses are initiated and travel along the sensory pathways to sensory area in the
cortex.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF SENSATION
• Each sense organ is sensitive to a particular kind of stimulus,
e.g., eyes are sensitive to light waves, ears to sound waves, etc.
• Receptors of each sense organ respond to specific kinds
of physical energy only, e.g., eyes respond to light energy
within the range of 380 nanometres to 780 nanometres only.
Ears respond to sounds between 20Hz to 20,000 Hz Our sense
receptors are capable of responding to only a restricted range
of stimulation.​
• Our sensation is relative. A stimulus always occurs against
the background of other stimuli and this affects the sensation,
e.g., a diamond appears brighter against the background of
black velvet. Against any other background it will not look
so bright​.
• Adaptation is another important characteristics of our
sensation. Sensory adaptation refers to the change brought
about in our sensory receptors by their continued stimulations
or lack of it. In other words, when sense organs are continually
stimulated, they show a gradual decrease in sensitivity to the
stimulus.
• Another important feature of sensory stimulation is that a
stimulus must be of a certain minimum strength to excite the
sense organ. The minimum strength of a stimulus that is
necessary to excite any particular sense organ is known as
absolute threshold.
 ATTRIBUTES OF SENSTION
Quality

 Sensation differ in quality, sensation of colour , sounds ,tastes ,smell heat and cold
differ from one another in Quality.
 They are produced by different kind of stimuli sensation of colour are produced by the
action of light waves on the retina of the eye ball
 Sensation different kind of Sense – organ , different kind of sensory of different nerves
 It is according the attribute which gives the sensation it special and distinctive name
cold, blue ,salt etc – these are all names of sensation qualities. This are all names of
sensation Qualities. This attribute can be further divided into two sub-part
a) Generic
b) Specific
 ATTRIBUTES OF SENSATION
Muller’s Theory of specific Energy of Nerves
 What is the cause of the generic and specific difference of sensations? There are different
kinds of stimuli, different sense organs, and different sensory nerves for different kinds of
sensations, visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and cultaneous.
 Air waves act upon the auditory organs, and produce nerve currents, which are conducted
by the auditory nerve to the auditory area in the brain

Intensity
 It refers to the strength of the sensation. It depends on the intensity of the stimulus and
efficiency of the sense organ.

Duration of Protensity
 Every sensation has a sensible duration. A sensation may linger in the mind for certain
duration. The sound which last five seconds feels differently when it ceases from a sound
which lasts twenty seconds. This is a difference in duration
 ATTRIBUTES OF SENSATION
Local Sign

 Lotze discovered local sign of sensation. If s person teaches your hand, forehead, or nose with the
same pencil point with the same degree of pressure, your tactual sensations will be differ from one
another in local sign. They will not differ in quality and intensity.

Weber-Fechner Law:

 .A very faint sound, a very faint light, a very faint odour, may fail altogether to produce a sensation.
The point at which a stimulus becomes intense enough to produce sensation is called the limens or the
threshold.

 .The least intense stimulus which produces a sensation marks the absolute threshold. Five to seven
quanta of light energy produce a visual sensation on the retina. A quantum is the smallest quantity of
light energy found in nature. Differential threshold is shown by the smallest change in a stimulus which
is appreciated. As the stimuli become more and more intense, they produce more and more intense
sensations.
 WHAT IS PERCEPTION?
 Perception refers to the way sensory information is organized,
interpreted, and consciously experienced. Perception involves
both bottom-up and top-down processing. Bottom-up
processing refers to the fact that perceptions are built from
sensory input. On the other hand, how we interpret those
sensations is influenced by our available knowledge, our
experiences, and our thoughts. This is called top-down
processing.
 NATURE OF PERCEPTION

 Perception is an experience of the objects or persons which are

present before experiencing individual i.e the perceiver.
 Perception is an active mental process where sensory data and
relevant past experiences are organized as a united whole,
generalized and discriminated so as to give the most
structured, meaningful picture of the sensed object or things.
 Perception is also selective in nature i.e we perceive only those
things that come in the focus of our attention and do not
perceive those which are out in the margin.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF PERCEPTION
Constancy
• In terms of perception, constancy refers to the
capability of one or more perceptual systems to
identify the same object among a sea of
sensory inputs. For example, a coin looks
circular when held face-on, and elliptical when it
is held showing its side. But, constancy enables
us to identify the object as a coin even if it is
held either way. Without constancy, we might
perceive one object as a different sensory input
if sensed in a different angle, degree, intensity
or frequency.
• There are various kinds of constancy. One type
is called color constancy major focus in the field
of perception. For instance, a white paper is
normally perceived as "white" even under
varying intensities and colors of light. Others
include odor, melody, brightness, words, and
roughness. The kind of information being
perceived is identified by the brain first before
the perceptual systems achieve the
corresponding perceptual constancy.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF PERCEPTION
• Grouping

• Grouping is a feature of perception that follows the principles primarily proposed by Gestalt
psychologists. The principles of grouping were formulated to analyze the natural human perception
of objects as organized and in patterns. The six Gestalt grouping principles include proximity,
similarity, closure, good continuation, common fate, and good form. Learn more about them here.
• Contrast Effect

• A contrast effect refers to the increase or decrease in perception as related to the normal intensity,
degree, frequency or other attributes. The so-called "normal perception" is based on the previous
experience/s of the person.
• John Locke, a 17th century philosopher, was among the earliest scholars who observed the contrast
effect. Suppose that you touch cup A with hot water. According to him, lukewarm water in cup B can
be perceived as "hot". But, the lukewarm water would feel "cold" if your hand had previously
touched a cup with cold water. Many years later, Wilhelm Wundt stated that contrast is a basic
principle of perception. For proper contrasts, the objects being compared must be similar to each
other. Since the early 20th century, researchers have performed several observations to confirm
contrast effects. One research on the perception of music revealed that subjects would identify a
song as "good" or "bad" depending on how the previously heard music is subjectively "good" or
"bad". The effects of the contrasts influence visual qualities such as brightness and color, as well as
other precepts like weight and lightness.
 ATTRIBUTES OF PERCEPTION
 Gestalt Principle

 Gestalt principles or laws are rules that

describe how the human eye perceives visual
elements. These principles aim to show how
complex scenes can be reduced to more
simple shapes. They also aim to explain how
the eyes perceive the shapes as a single,
united form rather than the separate simpler
elements involved.

 Principle of Surroundedness

 The principle that, in visual patterns, areas

that can be seen as surrounded by others
tend to be seen as figures
 ATTRIBUTES OF PERCEPTION
 Principle of Proximity

 The Law of Proximity is the gestalt grouping law

that states elements that are close together tend
to be perceived as a unified group. This
straightforward law states that items close to each
other tend to be grouped together, whereas items
further apart are less likely to be grouped
together.

 Principle of Similarity

 The Law of Similarity is the gestalt grouping law

that states that elements that are similar to each
other tend to be perceived as a unified group.
Similarity can refer to any number of features,
including color, orientation, size, or indeed motion.
 ATTRIBUTES OF PERCEPTION
 Principle 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. Rather
than seeing separate lines and angles, lines are
seen as belonging together.

 Principle of Closure

 According to the law of closure, things are

grouped together if they seem to complete
some entity. Our brains often ignore
contradictory information and fill in gaps in
information. In the image above, you probably
see the shapes of a circle and
 ATTRIBUTES OF PERCEPTION
 Principle of Pragnanz

The word pragnanz is a German term meaning "good

figure." The law of Pragnanz is sometimes referred to
as the law of good figure or the law of simplicity. This
law holds that objects in the environment are seen in a
way that makes them appear as simple as possible.

 You see the image above as overlapping circles

rather than an assortment of curved, connected
lines.

 Principle of Smallness

 One of the gestalt laws of perceptual organization,

being the principle that, in visual patterns, smaller
areas tend to be seen as figures against a larger
background.
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

SENSATION PERCEPTION
 Sensation is a normal, Simplest,  Perception is a complex and
initial mental process. developed mental activity.

 It begins with stimulus  It begins with some object/fringe of

meaning
 It is based on external Stimuli,
conditions.  It is associated with internal mental
conditions
 There is passivity in sensation
 There is activity in perception.
 The basis of sensation is mental
analysis.  The processes of perception linked
with actual life experience.
 SENSORY MODES
 Vision[Visual]
 Hearing[Auditory]
 Smell [olfaction]
 Taste [gustation]
 Touch [pressure, pain, temperature]
 Vestibular sense [balance]
 Kinesthesis [body movement]
 THE EYE AND THE SENSE OF SIGHT
 We perceive shapes, distance, movement,
colour, heat, and depth by our sense of sight.
The organ for the sense of sight is the eye,
about the shape of a ping-pong ball. The eye
alone cannot make sight possible. It works
with the brain and on the outside, needs light
to be present.
 The eye consists of three layers: The outer
layer consists of the sclera and cornea. The
middle layer consists of the choroid, ciliary
body, and iris. The inner layer consists of the
retina.
 When light falls onto an object (for instance a
bee coming towards you), the light is reflected
and directed to our eyes. The light travels
through the pupil and passes through the lens.
The lens sharpens the image (of the bee),
inverts it (turns it upside down) and displays it
on the retina. It is inverted because the rays
coming through the eyes are refracted and
cross each other.
 THE EYE AND THE SENSE OF SIGHT
 The retina is a very complex tissue, made up of optic nerves
(photoreceptors) that are special nerves for detecting light. The optic
nerves are the neurons that take the inverted image (impulse) from the
retina and send it to a special part of the brain. The brain interprets it and
tells you what the object is and what to do. All this happens within millions
of a seconds.
Rods
 Allow humans to see in black, white, and shades of gray in dim light​
 Mostly in the periphery ​
 Take 20 – 30 minutes to fully adapt to darkness ​

Cones​

 Enable humans to see color and fine detail in adequate light​

THE EYE AND THE SENSE OF SIGHT
 THE SENSE OF HEARING
 Hearing, or auditory perception, is the
ability to perceive sounds by detecting
vibrations, changes in the pressure of the
surrounding medium through time, through
an organ such as the ear. The academic field
concerned with hearing is auditory science.
 Sound may be heard through solid, liquid,
or gaseous mater. It is one of the traditional
five senses; partial or total inability to hear
is called hearing loss.
 In humans and other vertebrates, hearing is
performed primarily by the auditory system:
mechanical waves, known as vibrations, are
detected by the ear and transduced into
nerve impulses that are perceived by the
brain (primarily in the temporal lobe).
 THE SENSE OF HEARING
There are three main components of the human auditory system: the outer ear, the
middle ear, and the inner ear.

 Inner ear – The innermost portion of the ear, containing the cochlea, the
vestibular sacs, and the semicircular canals –​

 Middle Ear – Contains the ear drum. When sound hits the drum it vibrates to
cause small bones to vibrate which activates the inner ear receptors.

 External Ear –The ear catches sound waves and channels them to the eardrum​

 ​Cochlea - The snail-shaped, fluid-filled chamber in the inner ear that contains the ​

 Hair cells - Sensory receptors, ​

 THE SENSE OF SMELL
 Olfaction, or the sense of smell, is the process of
creating the perception of smell. It occurs when an odor
binds to a receptor within the nose, transmitting a signal
through the olfactory system. Olfaction has many purposes,
including detecting hazards, pheromones, and plays a role
in taste.
 Olfaction occurs when odorants bind to specific sites on
olfactory receptors located in the nasal cavity.

 Olfactory Epithelium- In humans and other vertebrates,

smells are sensed by olfactory sensory neurons in the
olfactory epithelium.
 Olfactory bulb projections

 Olfactory bulbs – Two matchstick-sized structures above the

nasal cavities, where smell sensations first register in the
brain​
 THE SENSE OF TASTE
 The gustatory system or sense of taste is the
sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception
of taste (flavour).Taste is the perception produced or stimulated
when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with
taste receptor cells located on taste buds in the oral cavity,
mostly on the tongue. Taste, along with smell (olfaction) and
trigeminal nerve stimulation (registering texture, pain, and
temperature), determines flavours of food and other
substances.

 There are five primary taste sensations:

a) Salty

b) Sour

c) Sweet

d) Bitter

e) Umami
 THE SKIN AND THE SENSE OF TOUCH
 The organ for the human sense of
touch is the skin. It is the largest
sense organ because unlike the
others, it is not located at any
specific place, but the entire body.

 Our sense of touch uses many

different receptors that help us to
respond to different stimuli such as
pain, pressure, tension,
temperature, texture, shape,
weight, contours and vibrations. It
helps us move away when the brain
perceives that there is a danger.
 THE VESTIBULAR SYSTEM
 The vestibular system is the sensory system that contributes to
balance and the sense of spatial orientation. Together with the
cochlea (a part of the auditory system) it constitutes the labyrinth of
the inner ear in most mammals, situated within the vestibulum in the
inner ear.​

 There are two main components of the vestibulum: the semicircular

canal system, which indicates rotational movements; and the
otoliths, which indicate linear accelerations. Some signals from the
vestibular system are sent to the neural structures that control eye
movements and provide us with clear vision, a process known as
the vestibulo-ocular reflex. Other signals are sent to the muscles that
control posture and keep us upright.​
 THE KINESTHETIC SENSES
 Kinesthesis refers to sensory input that occurs within
the body. Postural and movement information are
communicated via sensory systems by tension and
compression of muscles in the body. ​
 Even when the body remains stationary, the
kinesthetic sense can monitor its position. ​
 The sense providing information about relative
position and movement of body parts.​
 THE SENSORY MODES OF LEARNING
 When learning to write fiction, it's helpful to know how you learn. The three modes by which
humans perceive their world are through the visual, auditory, and tactile. You will likely
recognize your mode of choice from the descriptions below.

 The person whose major mode is visual learns through his eyes: reading from the printed page,
studying charts and graphs, looking at pictures, or watching a video.

 The person whose major mode is auditory learns primarily through hearing. He focuses his
greatest attention on the spoken word, he hears and pays attention to the sounds around him.
Some may want music playing in the background. A person who best acquires knowledge
through listening may find it helpful to read the lesson material into a recording device, and
then play it back as many times as necessary to learn the concepts taught in each lesson.

 The person whose major mode is tactile perceives his world through the sense of touch. He runs
a hand across a surface to experience the roughness or smoothness, explores an object by
holding it in his hand, reads by following a line of text or the path of a graph or a chart with his
finger.
 CLUES TO A PERSON’S PREFERRED
SENSORY MODE
 Once you become aware of the various sensory modes, it becomes easy to
pick up clues as to an individual’s preferred mode by the words he chooses
to say. Let’s set up a hypothetical situation where someone has committed
a social blunder--unintentional, of course--but he is concerned about how he
might be perceived by others in the group.

 A person who experiences his world visually may say, “Did that make me
look bad?”

 The person who experiences the world through his sense of touch will likely
say, “I don’t feel good about what I said?”

 The auditory person might say, “Did that sound as bad as I think it did?”
 MIXED LEARNING STYLES
 Some people lean heavily toward one learning style, while others employ a mixture of two. One mode is usually
dominant, with others in secondary or helping positions

 For example, the visual learner may also use the tactile as a helper. It could manifest itself like this: A person is
reading material that he needs to remember (use of the visual mode). He might take notes, or maybe underline or
highlight important information in the text (use of the tactile mode as backup) to reinforce his learning.

 The auditory learner might also use the tactile in the same way as the visual learner. During a lecture (use of auditory
mode), instead of relying completely on learning the information through his ears, he may take notes (use of tactile
mode) to reinforce what he has heard.

 The tactile learner will need his hands to be doing something during a lecture. To reinforce the information, he may
take notes or outline the information, but he may never need to look at his notes again, because the very act of doing
something with his hands during the learning process makes it easier for this person to assimilate the information.
The tactile learner will also likely find it helpful to have something in his hands while reading from the printed page--
something as simple as a holding a pencil or playing with a paperclip can help.

 So, which learning style (or styles) do you use to assimilate new information? Once aware of the various learning
styles and sensory modes, you will notice the different ways people use the variations combinations.

 A successful fiction writer is a student of people's behavior

 Why is multi-sensory instruction
important?
 When information is presented, it goes into our short term, working
memory. Like a computer, unless we deliberately save the data into long-
term storage, it is lost very quickly. The method we use to save new
information that is presented to us determines the likelihood we will be
able retrieve it in the future. If you think of memory as a file card box,
then the least effective system for organizing information would be to
write everything down in the same color, on the same size and colour
cards and throw them all into a big box. The chance of being able to find
the one card you want at any particular time will be fairly small,
especially as you fill the box up with cards. The more organization you
give the file system, the better your odds of finding a specific piece of
information. In a filing system, we might first color code the cards by
topic. Then we could arrange each topic alphabetically. Each step we take
to better organize the system, improves our ability to find a specific card.
 Why is multi-sensory instruction
important?
 The same is true for learning. Here, our chances of successfully retrieving
information are influenced by the number of pathways we create to find
it. The pathways are the modes of learning. Let’s consider a spelling word
we want to learn as an example. If we just look at the word we want to
learn how to spell, we are creating one visual pathway to the information.
If we say the word aloud, we are creating two more paths to the
information, one auditory since we are now hearing the word, and one
sensory motor as the muscles in our mouth form the sounds of the word.
If we add writing the word too, we create two more pathways: a second
visual one and a tactile one as we “feel” the word when we write. The
more ways we experience the word, the more pathways we create and
thus improve our likelihood of remembering how to spell this word when
we need to.
 The purpose behind multi-sensory instruction is to apply this concept of
learning to all subject areas. The more experiences a student has with a
piece of information, be it a spelling word, a process in mathematics, a
novel, or a concept in science; the stronger their ability will be to
remember it over a longer period of time.
 Visual Learners: learn through seeing
 Benefit from diagrams, handouts,
illustrations, maps, etc.
 Aware of the body language, facial
expressions of others
 Take notes during lectures or readings
 Doodle while listening
 Follow written directions better than
oral ones
 Close their eyes when memorizing or
remembering
 Prefer watching television, movies, and
video games
 Enjoy jigsaw puzzles
 Vivid imagination
 Auditory Learners: learn through listening
 Benefit from discussions, lectures, talking
through ideas

 Remembers dialog, jingles, or lyrics easily

 Talks out loud when problem solving or mumbles

when reading

 Prefer listening to CD’s, tapes, or the radio

 Follows oral directions easily

 Likes to talk on the phone

 Sensory-motor Learners: learn through
moving and touching
 Enjoys working with tools

 Bears down hard on writing implements

 Likes to touch or feel textures of things

 Fidgets

 Difficulty following oral directions

 Prefers sports, active games, or making things

 Enjoys jigsaw puzzles and mazes

 Counts on fingers or writes in the air

 Comfortable with personal contact (hugging,

handshakes, etc.)
THANK YOU