Psych Essay
Many people may get the concepts of sensation and perception mixed up. It is a common error or misconception that they are the same thing, but they actually are not. Sensation has much more to do with our five senses, whereas perception is more of an interpretation of what is actually sensed. Even though they are usually linked together 99 percent of the time, they do not always have to go together… meaning we can have sensation without perception or vice versa.
Sensation is all based on our primary five senses; sight hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Sensation is the pickup of information by our sensory receptors. For example, in vision sensation occurs when rays of light are collected by your eyes and focused on the retina. Also, sensation can occur due to a mental condition or from an internal body change such as becoming cold or having pain inside the body. Sensation could also be interpreted as a state of mind. Feeling excited or nervousness can all be considered a sensation.
Perception is the interpretation of what is being sensed. Basically perception is our body processing and understanding what it is we are sensing. To relate this with the previous example given, the light rays that are focused into our retina will be interpreted as a color, patter, shape, etc. Perception digests what we are sensing and interprets them, or translates them so we can have an idea of what it is we are hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, or tasting. Misinterpretation can occur though. Lack of experience can cause this because we may sense and interpret something that is actually something completely different. For example, when you walk further and further away from an object, let’s say a house, it appears as though the house is shrinking. None of us would freak out and yell, “My house is shrinking!” Even though our perception is that the house is shrinking quickly, we don’t interpret that the house is actually changing size. This is due to our past
Sensation is all based on our primary five senses; sight hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Sensation is the pickup of information by our sensory receptors. For example, in vision sensation occurs when rays of light are collected by your eyes and focused on the retina. Also, sensation can occur due to a mental condition or from an internal body change such as becoming cold or having pain inside the body. Sensation could also be interpreted as a state of mind. Feeling excited or nervousness can all be considered a sensation.
Perception is the interpretation of what is being sensed. Basically perception is our body processing and understanding what it is we are sensing. To relate this with the previous example given, the light rays that are focused into our retina will be interpreted as a color, patter, shape, etc. Perception digests what we are sensing and interprets them, or translates them so we can have an idea of what it is we are hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, or tasting. Misinterpretation can occur though. Lack of experience can cause this because we may sense and interpret something that is actually something completely different. For example, when you walk further and further away from an object, let’s say a house, it appears as though the house is shrinking. None of us would freak out and yell, “My house is shrinking!” Even though our perception is that the house is shrinking quickly, we don’t interpret that the house is actually changing size. This is due to our past
Cited: "Difference Between." Difference Between RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. "Sensation versus Perception." Sensation versus Perception. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.