Sarah Borders

Psychology 1010

Sensation and Perception
Sensation and perception plays a key role in our lives. It is one thing that all humans have
in common and a way to communicate with each other. Without communication we are going
against the very connection that makes us human.
Our five sensations allows us to communicate with society and/or the physical world.
Perception takes part and applies those senses to our mental processes. Gathered by our five
senses, perception utilizes that information, allowing our brain to organize the information to
interpret mental representations of the world. These two subjects of sensation and perception
contribute together. Sensory organs in the body, such as the brain, assimilate stimulus (what our
five senses pick up from the environment). Sensory receptors fire sending signals to the central
nervous system. The brain then translates it into neutral signals; something significant such as
our perceptions. This process is also known as the product of transduction.
There are a few different ways to detect a stimulus from your surroundings. For starters,
its vital to question if one is sensing or not sensing any stimulus. The absolute threshold is the
minimal measurable amount of a stimuli to be detected with the senses. Which leads to if were
able to detect minute senses. The absolute threshold is also beneficial to how we determine the
things we attend to with uncharted, familiar and muffled stimuli. You then recognize it to
perceive and understand what we just sensed. How sensitive the sense is can also be a factor of
how we experience the stimuli. Unlike the absolute threshold, the different threshold or the Just
Noticeable Difference (JND) is small changes in the sensitivity of a stimulus that can be
identified.
Sensory adaptation is when your senses essentially intensifies, the sensitivity to the stimulus


decreases. Take a distasteful smell of a molding garbage can for example, after a few minutes
you become used to the smell and it doesnt bother you as much.
As you detect stimulus and learn to interpret society, we can become more
communicative on a mutual level of understanding. Sensation and perception are a huge
contributor to this specific field of psychology. The key of sensation and perception unlock how
we are able to pick up on ways to not only communicate with ourselves, but also society. We can
accurately identify with the world through perceptions and what we sense as we come to
recognize what we pick up.