SOSC 1960

Sensation & Perception

Sensation and Perception –
What is the difference?
 Sensation: The activation of the sense
organs by a source of physical energy

 Perception: The sorting out,

interpretation, analysis, and integration of
stimuli by the sense organs and brain
Sensation and Perception –
What is the difference?
 Stimulus: Energy source that produces a
response in a sense organ (something that
elicits a response)
◼ Light stimuli activates our sense of sight and
allows us to see the color of the ocean
◼ Sound stimuli activates our sense of hearing
and allows us to listen to lectures

 Psychophysics: The study of the

relationship between the physical aspects
of stimuli and our psychological
experience of them
Sensation and Perception –
What is the difference?

 What does sensation include?

◼ Sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, balance

 What does perception entail?

◼ An active, constructive process in which we
interpret information received through our
senses and reach integrated decisions
about what we think exists in the world
Sensation and Perception –
What is the difference?
 Sensation
◼ When do we sense a stimulus? When do we
not?
◼ What if one of our senses is disrupted?
 Perception
◼ How do our brain organize sensory input?
◼ Why do we experience illusions?
 Sensation ≠ Perception
◼ What we subjectively experience is not
necessarily what is objectively out there.
Sensation and Perception –
What is the difference?
 Sensation ≠ perception
◼ Our brain is constructing images based on the
sensory input
◼ Our brain’s interpretation of the stimuli
sometimes is different from the stimuli
objectively and physically out there

 For example…
Sensation
 The activation of the sense organs by a
source of physical energy

 When does a stimulus become strong

enough to be detected by our sense
organs (eyes, ears, tongue, etc.)?

 Absolute threshold
◼ The smallest intensity of a stimulus that
must be present for it to be detected
Absolute threshold
 On a clear, dark night, we can see a
candle flame 48 km away

 Under quiet conditions, we can hear the

ticking of a watch 6 meters away

 One teaspoon of sugar can be tasted if

dissolved in 7 liters of water

 A drop of perfume can be detected in a 3-

room apartment
Are hybrid cars too quiet to be safe for pedestrians?

“…blindfolded subjects who listened to recordings of cars approaching at

five miles per hour could locate the familiar hum of a Honda Accord’s
internal-combustion engine 36 feet [approx. 11 meters] away. But they
failed to identify a Prius, running in electric mode, until it came within 11
feet [3.35 meters]—affording them less than two seconds to react before
the vehicle reached their position. And that was in the absence of traffic
noise or other distractions.” (Scientific American, 2008)
Difference threshold
 The smallest level of added or reduced
stimulation required to sense that a change
in stimulation has occurred

 Also known as just noticeable difference

 For weight, the just noticeable difference is

1:50
◼ 1 ounce increase for a 50 ounce weight
◼ 1 kilogram increase for a 50 kilogram person
Difference threshold
 Weber’s law: A basic law of psychophysics
stating that a just noticeable difference is
a constant proportion to the intensity of
an initial stimulus (rather than the
constant amount)
Sensory adaptation
 An adjustment in sensory capacity after
prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli

 Reduction or disappearance of sensory

responsiveness

 (not to be confused with habituation – the

decrease in response to a stimulus that
occurs after repeated presentations of the
same stimulus!)
Sensory adaptation
 Due to the inability of the sensory nerve
receptors to fire off messages to the brain
indefinitely

 Frees us from responding to abundant

information, but can be hazardous
(consider a gas leak)
Plasticity
 Even when one of our senses is disrupted,
our brain can rewire itself and adapt to
the situation

Can blind people learn to see without their eyes?

Review
 Chapter 4
◼ Module 10
◼ Module 13
◼ (Module 11-12 if you are
interested in the biologyof sensation &
perception)