Characteristics of sensation. Sensation in Psychology: What is Sensation Psychology? 2022-11-01

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Sensation refers to the process by which we perceive physical stimuli in the environment through our senses. These stimuli can include sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations, and they are detected by specialized sensory organs in the body such as the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. Sensation is an important aspect of human experience, as it allows us to perceive and interact with the world around us.

There are several characteristics of sensation that are important to understand. One of the most fundamental characteristics is that sensation is a bottom-up process, meaning that it is driven by the physical stimuli that are present in the environment. For example, when we see an object, the light reflecting off of the object is detected by the retina in the eye, which sends signals to the brain that are then interpreted as the object we see. This bottom-up process is in contrast to the top-down process of perception, which involves the brain using previous knowledge and expectations to interpret sensory input.

Another characteristic of sensation is that it is modality-specific, meaning that different senses are responsible for detecting different types of stimuli. For example, the eyes are responsible for detecting light and color, while the ears are responsible for detecting sound. This modality-specificity is reflected in the organization of the brain, with different regions responsible for processing information from different senses.

Sensation is also subjective, meaning that it can vary from person to person. This is due to individual differences in sensory organs, as well as differences in the way that the brain processes sensory information. For example, one person may be more sensitive to certain smells than another person, or may be more sensitive to certain colors. This subjectivity can also be influenced by cultural and personal experiences, as these can shape the way we perceive and interpret sensory information.

Sensation is also influenced by context. For example, the same stimulus may be perceived differently depending on the context in which it is presented. For example, the smell of cooking food may be pleasant in one context, such as at a family dinner, but may be unpleasant in another context, such as in a crowded elevator. The context in which sensory information is presented can also influence how it is perceived and interpreted by the brain.

In conclusion, sensation is the process by which we perceive physical stimuli in the environment through our senses. It is a bottom-up process driven by the physical stimuli present in the environment, is modality-specific, is subjective, and is influenced by context. Understanding these characteristics of sensation is important for understanding how we perceive and interact with the world around us.

Characteristics of Sensations

characteristics of sensation

The pinna is the part of the ear that can be seen. Purity or saturation refers to the degree to which a particular colour is diluted or not diluted by greyness or whiteness. The periodic waves are of various heights and widths. The patient can also respond by simultaneously duplicating the movement with the opposite extremity. What are the characteristics of the sensation of touch? If you touch this book, the sensation of touch seems to be in your hand but is actually being felt by your cere-bral cortex. Touch, and sound for example are transformed by receptors in the skin and inner ear into our experience of pressure and hearing. The minimum strength of the stimulus that is necessary to excite any particular sense organ is known as the lower threshold or limen, sometimes also called the lower absolute threshold.

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Sensation: Definition, Process, Examples

characteristics of sensation

The lens of the human eye, however, becomes thicker or thinner to focus at different distances. This, in turn, transmits a specific type of energy to the brain through sensory nerves such as the optic nerve or the auditory nerve. Look at the moon and then at a star. It is different from perception, which is about making sense of, or describing, the stimulation e. Touch Our sense of touch is also facilitated by mechanoreception. There are several ways to determine and measure the visual acuity but the basic procedure is to present the subject with figures with finer details at a specified distance and the subject is asked whether he can perceive them or not. The cuta-neous receptors for touch or pressure adapt very quickly to a continuing stimulus, and if there is no change, there is nothing for the receptors to detect.

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What is sensation and its characteristics?

characteristics of sensation

In simple language, the distinction between sensation and perception is that simple ingredients of experience are regarded as sensations, and the experiences that involve several sensations and their interpretation are regarded as perceptions. Vibration Perception The perception of a vibratory stimulus is tested by placing the base of the vibrating tuning fork on the bony prominence sternum, elbow, ankle. The human ear is capable of responding only to a small range of frequencies usually from 16 Hz to about 21,000 Hz. Sensory channel is made up of receptors for e. This process of detecting vibrations is referred to as mechanoreception. He based his theory on the psychological primaries rather than the colour mixing primaries and argued that yellow is as basic a colour as red, blue or green.

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What are characteristics of sensation?

characteristics of sensation

It is believed that smell sensitivity far surpasses the sensitivity, which we find in human beings. Pressure Perception The therapist's fingertip or a double-tipped cotton swab is used to apply a firm pressure on the skin surface. Our psychological experience of the loudness of the sound is primarily dependent upon the intensity of the sound wave. The iris of the eye serves like a diaphragm of the camera. These are known as the external senses but there is also a kinesthetic sense through which we become aware of the position of our limbs and tensions in our muscles.

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Sensation (Psychology): Characteristics, Thresholds, Types

characteristics of sensation

Retrieved on: April 6, 2018 from Study: study. These three are known as internal senses. Perhaps, it could be said that precise coding of the auditory information takes place in the auditory pathways closer to the brain and in the auditory cortex itself. Strain in the muscles, tendons, and joints causes motor sensation reported to the brain by afferent nerves. Depending on what you packed for your picnic, your tongue is capable of detecting one or more of the following tastes: salty, sweet, bitter, sour and umami which is savory. Normal Sensory Exam ; Stereognosis. He also assumed that each cone functioned in two ways.

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Sensation

characteristics of sensation

After testing the instrument should be sterilized or disposed. For each of the five senses, there are specialized neural pathways and an associated brain area dedicated to processing information gathered by that sense Figure 1. Each of these systems maintains unique neural pathways with the brain which allows them to transfer information from the environment to the brain very rapidly. Sensation Activities Activity 1: We do not usually spend much time thinking about or noticing our sensory systems, we simply take them for granted. Definition of Sensation 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. Much like wavelengths of light, the qualities of the auditory wavelength will determine the qualities of the sound that is heard in the brain. Sense organs are like the doors through which the organism becomes aware of his environment.

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Lecture 16 Sensation and characteristics of webapi.bu.edu

characteristics of sensation

Specially designed receptor cells under the skin are designed to sense the slightest amount of pressure. Really speaking colour-blindness means mistaking certain colours for some other colours. The resulting mental recreation of the distal stimulus is the percept. Brightness then, depends upon the intensity of light and the intensity of light in turn depends upon the amplitude of the light wave. Sensations follow a procedure of three steps: sensory stimuli are absorbed, converted into neural impulses, and then transported the neural information to the brain. Why does this hap-pen? A bathroom shower, for instance, approximates the sound of white noise.

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Sensation Overview & Types

characteristics of sensation

As we leave the central part of vision, the fovea on the retina and go towards the periphery, the cones become less and less and the rods become more and more in number. This test is not performed in isolated manner rather it is done in combination with pressure perception or touch awareness. Such visual defects are usually corrected by using glasses. Between these elementary colours are the secondary colours in which the primary components can be identified such as, orange between red and yellow; yellow-greens between yellow and green; bluegreen between green and blue and purples and violets between blue and red. Recognition of Texture The test examine the ability to differentiate among various textures like cotton, wool, or silk. Definition of Sensation 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. We become aware of the world by way of sensation.

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