StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Sensation and Preception - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The processes of sensation and perception are necessary in order to assure our survival. Just as the eagle has developed exceptional sight, which makes him an excellent hunter, humans have developed the appropriate sensory apparatus to assist us in deciphering from that which is potentially harmful, and that which is safe and beneficial…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.8% of users find it useful
Sensation and Preception
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Sensation and Preception"

The processes of sensation and perception are necessary in order to assure our survival. Just as the eagle has developed exceptional sight, which makes him an excellent hunter, humans have developed the appropriate sensory apparatus to assist us in deciphering from that which is potentially harmful, and that which is safe and beneficial. As humans, we depend on these processes in our everyday lives in a wide variety of circumstances, even though we are not always conscious of this. Each time we navigate up or down a staircase, we rely on sensation and perception to tell us precisely where our next step should be.

Driving is another instance where sensation and perception is vital to our well-being. Determining our distance in relation to a structure, or another vehicle, is particularly important for our safety, and the safety of others with whom we share the road. These are two instances, in which these processes are necessary to ensure our survival during our normal, everyday lives. During the viewing of this video, my perception of sensory stimuli was noticeably changed on numerous occasions. The most notable of these, was the screen that appeared to be a darker shade of gray on the left half.

This was most intriguing, because when the sensory stimuli was altered by simply covering the center boundary, the only area in which a difference in shade was actually present, both halves of the screen were proven to be identical in color. In retrospect, even though one is aware of there being no actual difference, aside from the center boundary, we still get the sensation that there is a slight difference in brightness or color. This phenomenon, referred to as subjective contours, is explained as the brain’s tendency to detect a slight difference in the sensory stimuli, in this case the slight color variation, and to over-extend that variation, therefore registering a pattern that does not exist.

This highlights the internal influences on our perception, such as prior experience, expectation, and bias, on what is external. Studies have revealed that previous experience and expectation play a significant role in sensation and perception of sensory stimuli. One research study, which placed particular importance on this internal influence, as presented in the video, is the Rat Man Illusion. In this study, subjects are shown a series of drawings—one group being shown a sequence of drawings of people, and the other a sequence of animal drawings—the subjects are then instructed to identify in quick succession, with no conscious effort, what it is they are viewing.

In each sequence, the drawings are easily identified as either an animal or a person; however, both sequences contain an identical, final image, which could be identified as either a rat or an old man wearing glasses. This study shows the tendency to see what we expect to see, depending on our prior experience and other internal factors. Not surprisingly, the subjects who were shown the sequence of drawings depicting people, tended to see the final image as an old man, and in the group of subjects, who had viewed the series of animal images, the opposite was perceived and recorded.

Works Cited “Program 7: Sensory and Perception.” Discovering Psychology. Web. 18 Jul 2011. http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=1504.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Sensation and Preception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/other/1428838-sensation-and-preception
(Sensation and Preception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 Words)
https://studentshare.org/other/1428838-sensation-and-preception.
“Sensation and Preception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/other/1428838-sensation-and-preception.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Sensation and Preception

Sensation, Perception and Attention

hellip; Attention, a state of focused awareness and readiness to respond, is the "first step in sensation and perception" and they together form the fundamental psychological condition for learning.... Attention, a state of focused awareness and readiness to respond, is the "first step in sensation and perception" and they together form the fundamental psychological condition for learning.... Therefore, the creation of a favorable learning environment by reducing the various impediments to focused attention and sensation and perception in the group learning process is most essential....
1 Pages (250 words) Research Proposal

Facilitating Development with the Aid of Sensory Stimuli

According to Proctor and Compton (2009, pg.... 1), "Perceptual development provides the foundation for interpreting the events of the world around us.... Stimuli from the environment that evoke sensory experiences of hearing, seeing, and touching promote brain growth and development.... hellip; For infants/toddlers with hearing loss, auditory input is limited or distorted; consequently, they are at risk for delays in speech and language development....
7 Pages (1750 words) Term Paper

Sensation and Perception Psychology by Amoore

The paper “sensation and Perception Psychology by Amoore” discusses the symptoms and the problems that are related to anosmia; a disease that paralyzes the sense of smell of an individual.... The paper discusses the function of the olfaction nerves.... hellip; The author states that the disorders that are related to olfactory nerves are also been listed....
2 Pages (500 words) Article

Sensation and Perception Homework

Before explaining the visual design for the particular species, it is better to depict here how actually the living beings see objects.... All the living beings differently see objects according to their body shape and the surrounding environment.... However, they have some components common which help them to see....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Sensation and Perception

Sue would be interesting but rather challenging both sensation and perception: stereoscopic vision sensation and perception: stereoscopic vision The story about Dr.... Barry Sue is one amazing but the rather mysterious story to any normal human being as I, who have not experienced stereoscopic vision, unless with the aid of the space age 3D technology present on earth....
2 Pages (500 words) Assignment

Sensation & Perception

But what interests me most with regard to sensation and perception is the concept of ‘pain'.... I define sensation as the process of transmitting information from our environment into our… For example, just like any person, I prefer certain colors over others because they are pleasant to my sight, but there are colors that I Red, green, and blue are some of my favorite colors because they are pleasant to my senses; however, the color blue is particularly meaningful to me, or I ‘perceive' this color as special from the rest because every time I am wearing blue I usually get what I wanted....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Sensation and Perception

"sensation and Perception" paper examines the interpretation of the environment by the perceptual system.... hellip; During the orchestration of perceptual constancy, sense organs take in information through the process of sensations, and the stimuli resulting from the sensation are interpreted as signals, which the individual's brain is able to process (Goldstein 455).... In the case of selective attention, sensation, which is the process through which the human sensory systems and the nervous system receives and presents stimulus from incoming data channels conscious awareness to the data, which is filtered in....
2 Pages (500 words) Assignment

Sensation and Perception

This coursework "sensation and Perception" describes the sensation and perception topic and the main senses in human beings hence help in studying how the body perceives is self.... nbsp;… The sensation is the stimuli or the sense that gives the individual a chance to come into contact with the physical environment while perception is the interpretation is the recognition and interpretation of the senses by the help of the brain through a number of known processes....
5 Pages (1250 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us