Chapter 5 - Perception ans Sensation

1. Define sensation Sensation is the stimulus detection process by which our sense organs respond to and translate environmental stimuli into nerve impulses that are sent to the brain.

2. Define perception Perception is making sense of what our senses tell us and is the active process of organizing this stimulus input and giving it meaning. (Mather, 2006; May 2007)
Perception is what a person wants to believe, their personal opinion. People of different generations or people of different religions or people from different backgrounds have a difference of opinion only because they perceive everything differently. Wise people try to understand the perceptions of other people whereas unwise people believe that what they perceive about a situation or about a person is the only correct perception.

3. What is the difference between sensation and perception? Give an example for both of the terms. Perception and sensation are different mostly because sensation is more physical. Sensations arise only because the body receives a stimulus, and the body reacts to it converting the stimulus into one of the things that one of the sensory organs of the body can identify. However, perception is absolutely psychological which are individual thoughts of individual people and almost like a sixth sense.

The figure showed that this guy is feeling pain because his hand is touch on the stove. This is the sensation effect.

From the figure, we can see different things if we looks on different perspective. Like example, the elephant in our minds only have four legs, but in this picture we can see more than four. This is the perception where we will confuse.

4. Define depth perception and give examples. Dept perception is the retina receives information in only two dimensions (length and width), but the brain translates these cues into three dimensional perception.

From the left figure, we might see that the object is in different size. But actually the object is in same size, but just due to our vision it make us feel that it is different.

5. Define thresholds A threshold is the minimum amount of stimulation needed to start a neural impulse (electrical impulses that travel throughout your body carrying important information). There is a very

scientific explanation to this that includes the actual mV (millivolts) of the inside and outside of the neural membrane. 6. Define absolute thresholds and give examples. Absolute thresholds are the lowest intensity at which a stimulus can be detected 50% of the time. Thus, the lower the absolute thresholds, the greater the sensitivity. In addition, it also used to estimate the general limits of human sensitivity for the five major senses. Sensory Modality Vision Absolute Thresholds Candle flame seen at 30 miles on a clear dark night Hearing Tick of a watch under quiet conditions at 20 feet Taste Smell 1 teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water 1 drop of perfume diffused into the entire volume of a large apartment Touch Wing of a fly or bee on a persons cheek from a distance of 1 centimeter

7. Define Just Noticeable Difference (JND) and give examples. The JND is the smallest difference between two stimuli that people can perceive 50% of the time. According to Webers law it is directly proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus with which the comparison is being made and can be expressed as a Weber fraction.

Like example, somebody hearing is very sensitive compare to others, just like when the bus is not yet reach but he or she already can heard the engine sound.

References

http://www.differencebetween.net/language/words-language/difference-between-sensationand-perception/ http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Threshold