PSY1020: Foundation Psychology B
Sensation and Perception
Basic Principles
Sensation – a process in which sense organs gather information about the environment and
transmit it to the brain for initial processing.
Perception – a process in which the brain selects, organises and interprets sensations.
Hearing - Sound travels in waves that occur as a vibrating object sets air particles in motion.
Vision – light is just one form of electromagnetic radiation, but it is a form to which the eye
is sensitive.
Sensing the Environment
- Transduction – the process of converting stimulus information into neural impulses.
- Absolute threshold – minimum amount of energy needed for an observer to sense that
a stimulus is present.
- Difference threshold – the lowest level of stimulation required to sense that a change
in stimulation has occurred.
- Sensory adaption – the tendency of sensory systems to respond less to stimuli that
continue without change.
- Subliminal perception – tendency to perceive info outside our conscious awareness.
Perception
- Perceptual organisation – integrates sensations into precepts, locates them in space
and preserves their meaning as the perceiver examines them from a different vantage
point.
Sensation and Perception
Basic Principles
Sensation – a process in which sense organs gather information about the environment and
transmit it to the brain for initial processing.
Perception – a process in which the brain selects, organises and interprets sensations.
Hearing - Sound travels in waves that occur as a vibrating object sets air particles in motion.
Vision – light is just one form of electromagnetic radiation, but it is a form to which the eye
is sensitive.
Sensing the Environment
- Transduction – the process of converting stimulus information into neural impulses.
- Absolute threshold – minimum amount of energy needed for an observer to sense that
a stimulus is present.
- Difference threshold – the lowest level of stimulation required to sense that a change
in stimulation has occurred.
- Sensory adaption – the tendency of sensory systems to respond less to stimuli that
continue without change.
- Subliminal perception – tendency to perceive info outside our conscious awareness.
Perception
- Perceptual organisation – integrates sensations into precepts, locates them in space
and preserves their meaning as the perceiver examines them from a different vantage
point.
