Sensation

11 Key excerpts on "Sensation"

• 

  eBook - PDF

  Visualizing Psychology

  • Siri Carpenter, Karen Huffman(Authors)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Sensation The process of detecting, converting, and transmitting raw sensory information from the external and internal environments to the brain. RETRIEVAL PRACTICE While reading the upcoming sections, respond to each Learning Objective in your own words. Then compare your responses with those in Appendix B. perception The process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory information into meaningful patterns. THE PLANNER ✓ ✓ Study Organizer 4.1 Sensation and perception Sensation PERCEPTION Sense Stimulus Receptors Brain Vision Light waves Light-sensitive rods and cones in eye’s retina Visual cortex in the occipital lobe Audition (hearing) Sound waves Pressure-sensitive hair cells in ear’s cochlea Auditory cortex in the temporal lobe Olfaction (smell) Molecules dissolved on nose’s mucous membranes Neurons in the nose’s olfactory epithelium Temporal lobe and limbic system Gustation (taste) Molecules dissolved on tongue Taste buds on tongue’s surface Limbic system, somatosensory cortex, and frontal lobe Body Senses Variety of stimuli Variety of receptors Motor cortex in the frontal lobe and the somatosensory cortex in the pari-etal lobe Light waves Understanding Sensation 89 that the body does register before a neural impulse is finally sent to the various parts of the brain. Humans, for example, cannot sense ultraviolet light, microwaves, the ultrasonic sound of a dog whistle, or infrared heat patterns from warm-blooded animals, as some other animals can. Find out what you already know about Sensation and perception by taking the quiz in Myth Busters . Processing Our eyes, ears, skin, and other sense organs all contain special cells called receptors, which receive and process sensory information from the environment. For each sense, these specialized cells respond to a distinct stimulus, such as sound waves or odor molecules. During the process of trans-duction , the receptors convert the stimulus into neural im-pulses, which are sent to the brain.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Real World Psychology

  • Karen R. Huffman, Catherine A. Sanderson(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Psychologists are keenly interested in our senses because they are our mind’s win- dow to the outside world. We’re equally interested in how our mind perceives and interprets the information it receives from the senses. Sensation begins with specialized receptor cells located in our sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and internal body tissues). When sense organs detect an appropriate stimulus (light, mechanical pressure, chemical molecules), they con- vert it into neural impulses (action potentials) that are transmitted to our brain. Through the process of perception , the brain then assigns meaning to this sensory information (Table 4.1). Processing Our eyes, ears, skin, and other sense organs all contain special cells called receptors, which receive and process sensory information from the environment. For each sense, these specialized cells respond to a distinct stimulus, such as sound waves or odor molecules. Next, during the process of transduction , the receptors convert the energy from the specific sensory stimulus into neural impulses, which are sent to the brain. For example, in hearing, tiny receptor cells in the inner ear convert mechanical vibra- tions from sound waves into electrochemical signals. Neurons then carry these signals to the brain, where specific sensory receptors detect and interpret the information. How does our brain differentiate between Sensations, such as sounds and smells? Through a process known as coding , the brain interprets different physical LEARNING OBJECTIVES Sensation The process of detecting, convert- ing, and transmitting raw sensory information from the external and internal environments to the brain. Perception The processes of selecting, orga- nizing, and interpreting sensory information into meaningful patterns; interpreting sensory images as having been produced by stimuli from the external, three-dimensional world.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Psychology Around Us

  • Nancy Ogden, Michael Boyes, Evelyn Field, Ronald Comer, Elizabeth Gould(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Our sensory systems are able to detect only some of this energy. However, all that we experience is dependent on the electrical signals generated by the nervous system. That is, everything that we experience, every taste, every smell, every sight, every sound, and every feeling, is based on the energy absorbed by our sensory receptors and converted to neural impulses that are transmitted to the brain (Goldstein & Brockmole, 2016). As a consequence, much of what happens in the world goes unrecognized by our perceptual systems. Two closely related processes are involved in sensory perception. One is Sensation, the act of using our sensory receptors to detect a stimulus present in the environment and to then transmit a signal to the brain with information about this environmental stimulus. Transformation of physical energy from the environment into electrical signals for the brain occurs in a process called transduction. Once acquired, this sensory information must be interpreted in the context of past and present sensory stimuli. This process, which also involves recognition and identification, is broadly defined as perception. Sensation and perception are both critical for our interpretation of, and interaction with, the environment. Accurate functioning of our sensory systems is critical for survival. For example, imagine how greatly diminished your chances of survival would be if you could not see a fire, feel its heat, hear others crying “fire,” smell the smoke, or interpret any of these sen- sations and perceptions appropriately as signalling danger. Common Features of Sensation and Perception LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1 Describe characteristics shared by all the senses, including receptor cells, transduction, and thresholds, and differentiate between top-down and bottom-up processes of perception. Sensation the act of using our sensory systems to detect environmental stimuli. perception the conscious recognition and identification of a sensory stimulus.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Psychology in Action

  • Karen R. Huffman, Katherine Dowdell, Catherine A. Sanderson(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Sensation The process of detecting, converting, and trans- mitting raw sensory information from the external and internal environments to the brain. Perception The process of selecting, organizing, and inter- preting sensory information into meaningful objects and events. Bottom-up processing A type of information processing that starts at the “bottom” with an analysis of smaller features, and then builds on them to create complete percep- tions; data-driven processing that moves from the parts to the whole. Top-down processing A type of information processing that starts at the “top” with higher-level analysis (prior knowledge and expectations), and then works “down” to recognize individual features as a unified whole; concep- tually driven processing that moves from the whole to the parts. 4.1 Understanding Sensation LEARNING OBJECTIVES Retrieval Practice While reading the upcoming sections, respond to each Learning Objective in your own words. Review the key features and processes of Sensation. • Differentiate Sensation from perception. • Describe how raw sensory stimuli are processed and converted to signals sent to our brains. • Discuss how and why we reduce the amount of sensory information we receive and process. • Explain psychophysics and subliminal stimuli. • Summarize the factors involved in sensory adaptation and pain perception. FIGURE 4.1 Sensation and perception When you look at this drawing, do you see a young woman looking back over her shoulder or an older woman with her chin buried in a fur collar? Younger students tend to first see a young woman, and older students first see an older woman. Although the basic sensory input (sensa- tion) stays the same, your brain’s attempt to select, organize, and interpret the sensory information (perception) turns the black and white lines and shapes into mean- ingful objects—either a young or old face.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Real World Psychology

  • Catherine A. Sanderson, Karen R. Huffman(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Sensation The process of detect- ing, and converting, raw sensory information from the external and internal environments and trans- mitting it to the brain. Perception The process of selecting, organizing, and inter- preting sensory information into meaningful objects and events. Stimulus energy (smell, liquid on your tongue, sights, sounds, etc.) Sensory receptors (tongue, nose, eyes, ears, etc.) Neural impulses (action potentials) Brain (smell, touch, taste, vision, hearing, etc.) Perception Sensation FIGURE 4.1 Understanding how Sensation becomes perception Note how the stimulus energy (in this case, smell, liquid on your tongue, sights, sounds, etc.) from your brewing coffee first travels to your sensory receptors (tongue, nose, eyes, ears, etc.). Neural impulses then carry the neural messages to appropriate areas of your brain (smell, touch, taste, vision, hearing, etc.). Your brain then receives and interprets these messages, while you relax and enjoy the delicious coffee. Viktor Gladkov/123RF 106 CHAPTER 4 Sensation and Perception How do we unknowingly and automatically combine Sensation and perception? At least two processes are involved (Ciria et al., 2019; Sussman et al., 2016; van Ommen et al., 2016): • In bottom-up processing, information processing starts at the “bottom” with an analy- sis of smaller features and then builds on them to create complete perceptions. In other words, processing begins at the sensory level and works “up.” • During top-down processing, our brains create useable perceptions from the sensory messages based on prior knowledge and expectations. In this case, processing begins at the “top,” our brain’s higher-level cognitive processes, and works “down.” One additional way to understand the difference between bottom-up and top-down pro- cessing is to think about what happens when we “see” a helicopter flying overhead in the sky.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Real World Psychology

  • Catherine A. Sanderson, Karen R. Huffman(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  We begin with an exploration of how Sensation differs from perception and three key topics involved in Sensation—processing, psychophysics, and sensory adaptation. Next, we examine vision, hearing, and our other important senses— smell, taste, and body senses. We conclude with a survey of the basic processes in perception— selection, organization, and interpretation. 4.1 Understanding Sensation LEARNING OBJECTIVES Retrieval Practice While reading the upcoming sections, respond to each Learning Objective in your own words. Review the key features and processes of Sensation. • Differentiate Sensation from perception. • Describe how raw sensory stimuli are processed and converted to signals sent to our brains. • Discuss how and why we reduce the amount of sensory information we receive and process. • Explain psychophysics and subliminal stimuli. • Summarize the factors involved in sensory adaptation and pain perception. Psychologists are keenly interested in our senses because they are our mind’s window to the outside world. We’re equally interested in how our mind perceives and interprets the informa- tion it receives from the senses. In this chapter we separate the discussion of Sensation and per- ception, but in our everyday life the two normally blend into one apparently seamless process. We’ll start with an explanation of how they differ. Sensation versus Perception Sensation begins with specialized receptor cells located in our sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and internal body tissues). When sense organs detect an appropriate stimulus (light, mechanical pressure, chemical molecules), they convert it into neural impulses (action potentials) that are transmitted to our brains. Through the process of perception, the brain then assigns meaning to this sensory information (Table 4.1). Another clever way to differentiate Sensation and perception is shown in Figure 4.1.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Psychology

  Made Simple

  • Abraham P. Sperling, Kenneth Martin(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Made Simple

    (Publisher)

  2 Sensation AND PERCEPTION Everything we experience comes to us by means of our sense organs. These may be thought of as receiving stations for stimuli which come from outside and from within our body. Human beings and other higher animals are distinguished by the fact that the_sense organs are highly specialized for receiving specific kinds of stimuli. We have eyes for seeing, ears for hearing, the tongue for taste. In the most simple forms of animal life such as the one-celled amoeba, there is no differentiation as regards sense organs. The whole body is equally sensitive to heat, to cold, to pressure, and light. It may be well for us to define the terms most commonly employed by the psychologist in describing sensory behaviour. A sense organ, sometimes referred to as a receptor, is a specialized part of the body which is selectively sensitive to some types of changes in its environment and not to others. For example, the eye is a receptor for Sensations of light waves but is impervious to sound stimuli. To a deaf individual whose sense of hearing is totally impaired, it would make no difference whether you held a gently ringing alarm clock next to his ear or a wailing siren. A stimulus is any kind of mechanical, physical, or chemical change that acts upon a sense organ. The important feature is the element of 'change'. In 'applied' psychology, we make maximum use of this idea when we want to hold an individual's attention. The advertiser, the teacher, the actor, and the engineer—for example—employ this princi-ple continuously. Ordinarily, a red light over a door serves as a warning. Left there long enough, we get used to it and its effectiveness as a stimulus is diminished. If we then change its nature by making it a blinking red light, it again serves as an effective stimulus. For the same reason, the advertiser puts motion into his otherwise stationary window displays.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Visualizing Psychology

  • Karen R. Huffman, Alastair Younger, Claire Vanston(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Perception is the higher-level process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory data into useful mental representations of the world. It is what we do with the sensory information we get in order to understand the world and our experiences. While these defini- tions might seem a bit dry and boring, the beauty and magic of the concepts come alive in the examples. Exactostock/SuperStock SuperStock 97 CHAPTER OUTLINE What Is Sensation? 98 • Detecting andTranslating Information • Adaptation: Weakening the Response How We See and Hear 102 • Waves of Light and Sound • Vision: Our Dominant Sense • Hearing:Translating Waves of Vibrating Air Our Other Senses 108 • Smell andTaste: Sensing Chemicals • The Body Senses: Much More Than JustTouch The Magic of Perception 111 • Selection: Extracting Important Information ■ Psychological Science: Optical Illusions • Organization: Form, Constancy, Depth, and Colour ■ What a Psychologist Sees: Four Visual Perceptual Constancies ■ Applying Psychology: Colour After-Effects • Interpretation: Explaining Our Perceptions ■ Psychological Science: Subliminal Perception CHAPTER PLANNER ✓ ✓ ❑ Study the picture and read the opening story. ❑ Scan the Learning Objectives in each section: p. 98 ❑ p. 102 ❑ p. 108 ❑ p. 111 ❑ ❑ Read the text and study all visuals. Answer any questions. Analyze key features ❑ Study Organizer, p. 103 ❑ Process Diagram, p. 104 ❑ p. 105 ❑ p. 109 ❑ ❑ Psychological Science, p. 112 ❑ p. 121 ❑ ❑ Visualizing, p. 113 ❑ What a Psychologist Sees, p. 116 ❑ Applying Psychology, p. 119 ❑ Stop: Answer the Concept Checks before you go on: p. 101 ❑ p. 107 ❑ p. 111 ❑ p. 122 ❑ End of chapter ❑ Review the Summary and Key Terms. ❑ Answer the Critical and Creative Thinking Questions. ❑ Complete the Self-Test and check your answers.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Psychology, 6th Australian and New Zealand Edition

  • Lorelle J. Burton, Drew Westen, Robin M. Kowalski(Authors)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  signal detection theory The theory that experiencing a Sensation means making a judgement about whether a stimulus is present or absent. similarity A Gestalt rule of perception which states that the brain tends to group similar elements within a perceptual field. simplicity A Gestalt rule of perception which states that people tend to perceive the simplest pattern possible. size constancy The perception that the shape of objects remains unchanged in spite of the fact that different impressions are made on the retina each time the object is encountered. sound localisation Identifying the location of a sound in space. sound wave A pulsation of acoustic energy. Stevens’ power law A law of Sensation proposed by S. S. Stevens, which states that the subjective intensity of a stimulus grows as a proportion of the actual intensity raised to some power. subliminal perception Perception of stimuli below the threshold of consciousness. Pdf_Folio:346 346 Psychology tastebuds Structures that line the walls of the papillae of the tongue (and elsewhere in the mouth) that contain taste receptors. timbre The psychological property corresponding to a sound wave’s complexity; the texture of a sound. top-down processing Perceptual processing that starts with the observer’s expectations and knowledge. transduction The process of converting physical energy into neural impulses. trichromatic theory A theory of colour vision initially proposed by Thomas Young and modified by Herman von Helmholtz that proposes that the eye contains three types of receptors, each sensitive to wavelengths of light that produce Sensations of blue, green and red; by this theory, the colours that humans see reflect blends of the three colours to which the retina is sensitive; also called the Young–Helmholtz theory. vestibular sense The sense that provides information about the position of the body in space by sensing gravity and movement.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Psychology

  • Douglas Bernstein, , , (Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  You can experience this for yourself if you first try to feel the roughness of sandpa-per by just placing your fingers on it. A much clearer Sensation of roughness will appear if you slide your fingers over the surface (Hollins & Bensamaia, 2007). As you do so, the ridges that form your fin-gerprints vibrate in succession, activating special receptors in each ridge. Encoded messages about the timing of this se-quence of activation tells the brain about the characteristics of the surface you are touching (Hartmann, 2009; Scheibert et al., 2009). Ted Foxx/Alamy cutaneous senses Senses includ-ing touch, temperature, pain, and kinesthetic perception that are spread throughout the body. Also called somatosensory systems. Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 110 Sensation and Perception However, many of these neural receptors respond not just to temper-ature but also to touch, so these Sensations sometimes interact. For example, if you touch an object made up of alternating warm and cool sections, you’ll have the Sensation of intense heat (Thunberg, 1896, cited in Craig & Bushnell, 1994). Pain Touch can feel pleasurable, but if the intensity of touch stimulation increases too much, it can turn into a pain Sensation. Pain tells you about the impact of the world on your body. It also has a distinctly negative emotional component that interrupts whatever you are doing (Eccleston & Crombez, 1999). Pain as an Information Sense The receptors for pain are free nerve endings that come from the spi-nal cord, enter the skin, and then simply end.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Discovering Psychology

  The Science of Mind

  • John Cacioppo, Laura Freberg(Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  You might think it would be a blessing to be born without a sense of pain, but people who have impaired pain reception often die prematurely because of their in-ability to respond to injury. Although unpleasant, pain tells us to stop and assess our circum-stances, which may have promoted the survival of our ancestors. Somatosensory Stimuli Unlike the visual and auditory stimuli we have discussed so far in this chapter, somatosensory stimuli arise from within the body or make contact with its surface. As a result, these stimuli provide an organism little time to react. We can deal with a predator seen or heard from a distance using strategies different from those we use for one that is touching us. Nonetheless, the somatosenses provide essential feedback needed for movement, speech, and safety. The Biology of the Somatosenses The transition from walking on four legs to walking on two placed selective pressure on the evolution of primate vision and, to some extent, audition. By standing up on two legs, primates distanced themselves from many sources of information, like smell. If you don’t believe us, try getting down on your hands and knees and smelling your carpet. This transition did not place the same evolutionary pressure on the human somatosenses, which work about the same way in us as they do in other animals. Body Position To begin our exploration of the somatosensory systems, we return to the inner ear. Adjacent to the structures re-sponsible for encoding sound, we find the sensory structures of the vestibular system , which provide us with information about body position and movement. The proximity of these structures to the middle ear, which can become congested because of a head cold, is often responsible for those rather unpleasant feelings of dizziness that accompany an illness. The receptors of the vestibular system provide information about the position of the head relative to the ground, linear acceleration, and rotational movements of the head.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book