18 Basic Concepts of Sensation and Perception

18.1 Transduction

18-2 What three steps are basic to all our sensory systems?

Every second of every day, our sensory systems perform an amazing feat: They convert one form of energy into another. Vision processes light energy. Hearing processes sound waves. All our senses

receive sensory stimulation, often using specialized receptor cells.
transform that stimulation into neural impulses.
deliver the neural information to our brain.

The process of converting one form of energy into another that our brain can use is called transduction. How do we see? Hear? Taste? Smell? Feel pain? Keep our balance? In each case, one of our sensory systems receives, transforms, and delivers the information to our brain. The field of psychophysics studies the relationships between the physical energy we can detect and its effects on our psychological experiences.

Let’s explore some strengths and weaknesses in our ability to detect and interpret stimuli in the vast sea of energy around us.

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RETRIEVAL PRACTICE

What is the rough distinction between sensation and perception?

Sensation is the bottom-up process by which our sensory receptors and our nervous system receive and represent stimuli. Perception is the top-down process in which our brain creates meaning by organizing and interpreting what our senses detect.