Jonathan DePadua Racelis – Philosophy II - General Psychology

Sensation
Sense - A faculty by which the body perceives an external stimulus; one of the faculties of sight,
smell, hearing, taste, and touch.
 Sensation is an animal's, including humans', detection of external or internal stimulation
(e.g., eyes detecting light waves, ears detecting sound waves). It is different
from Perception, which is about making sense of, or describing, the stimulation (e.g.,
seeing a chair, hearing a guitar).
 Sensation is the process that allows our brains to take in information via our five
senses, which can then be experienced and interpreted by the brain. Sensation occurs
thanks to our five sensory systems: vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch.

Perception
Perceive - Become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or understand, by the
use of one of the senses.
 Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in
order to represent and understand the presented information, or the environment.
 All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system, which in turn result
from physical or chemical stimulation of the sensory system. For example, vision
involves light striking the retina of the eye, smell is mediated by odor molecules,
and hearing involves pressure waves.
 Perception is not only the passive receipt of these signals, but it's also shaped by the
recipient's learning, memory, expectation, and attention.
 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.

Difference of Sensation and Perception

 Sensation refers to the process of sensing our environment through touch, taste, sight,
sound, and smell. This information is sent to our brains in raw form
where perception comes into play. Perception is the way we interpret
these sensations and therefore make sense of everything around us.

 Sensation and perception are two separate processes that are very closely related.
Sensation is input about the physical world obtained by our sensory receptors, and
perception is the process by which the brain selects, organizes, and interprets these
sensations. In other words, senses are the physiological basis of perception.
Perception of the same senses may vary from one person to another because each
person’s brain interprets stimuli differently based on that individual’s learning, memory,
emotions, and expectations.
 Jonathan DePadua Racelis – Philosophy II - General Psychology

Sensation: Your visual sensors (retinas) ‘see’ a furry face and moving tail.

Perception: Your ‘brain’ interprets your sensations, to recognize a happy dog.

Sensation: Your hearing senses detect a loud rumble coming from a distance.

Perception: Your brain remembers this sound as a rumble of thunder.

Sensation: Your skin receptors ‘feel’ an intense, sharp sensation on the bottom of
your foot.

Perception: The brain interprets pain, signals to ‘move the foot,’ and visualizes a
tack or nail.

Sensation: Your smell receptors detect molecules of a particular olfactory

characteristic.

Perception: Your brain recognizes ‘recognizes’ the aroma of apple pie in the oven.

Sensation: Your taste buds register a bitter sensation coming from a food source.

Perception: Your brain signals rejection of the bad-tasting ‘onion’ as you spit it
out.

These are the 5 main bodily senses that process incoming stimuli. Some suggest
that kinesthetics (movement) and proprioception (location of self/limbs in space)
are additional sensations.