Chris Keyes Sensation and Perception Sensation and perception are often thought of as one process, but in fact,

they are two separate tasks. Sensation refers to the detection and basic sensory experience of environmental stimuli, such as sounds, images, and odors !"ockenbury ##$. %his means everything that a person&s five senses detect would be considered a sensation. 'n the other hand, Perception occurs when we integrate, organi(e, and interpret sensory information in a way that is meaningful !"ockenbury ##$. )n other words, perception is the brain making sense of the sensations sent to it. *ithout sensation, perception would not be possible. *ithout perception, sensations would still take place, but they would not be understood. +n example of this would be a story of a man named ,ike ,ay in -iscovering Psychology. "e was blind since he was three years old, and then he received surgery allowing him to see. ,ike could now see people gesturing hands, lips moving, and all the other parts of a conversation, but could not make sense of it because his brain was not developed to perceive what all of the events meant. Perception may also be different from person to person. .ven though pain may be sensed the same in different situations, the way a person perceives the pain can change depending on the situation. %o begin, in a situation where a person painfully stubs their toe unexpectedly the person would sense the pain in their toe with the cutaneous sense. +fter the nociceptors pick up that a person stubbed their toe, the +/delta fibers are the first responders. %he +/delta fibers would be the sharp intense pain after stubbing a toe. +ccording to -iscovering Psychology the C fibers would then send the dull, achy pain which lasts much longer. Since a person stubbed their toe unexpectedly, it would cause more pain to a person because the pain would start up suddenly. + person would perceive the pain as a throbbing stubbed toe and then proceed to get some ice for it.

+ related situation where sensation would be perceived differently would be if a person was tackled aggressively in a casual football game with friends. %his is not a football game against a rival team or for a championship0 this is a casual game with friends. -uring this game if a person was 1ust catching a ball and they got drilled, the body would feel the sensation of being hit and the impact of being taken to the ground. %he pain would be felt on the surrounding muscles, bones, and possibly internally if enough damage occurred. Perception in this situation would be taken differently. + person is en1oying himself playing catch and they get hit0 the pain would be increased because of the randomness of the blow. + person could not mentally prepare themselves to cope with the pain until after it has happened, causing it to be more intense. %he next situation is getting tackled aggressively in a football playoff game. %he sensation of this tackle would be almost the same. %he same receptors would be triggered and same damage done, but this scenario differs in perception. 2efore a football game a player prepares himself mentally, especially in a playoff game. .ven before the hit, a player&s muscles are likely tensed up while he is carrying the ball, so that would lessen the pain of a hit. + player would expect this hit in a playoff game, so it would be perceived as normal. +lso, during an intense playoff game a player would have adrenaline and endorphins pumping throughout his body, so the pain would be much less. +n e3ually important setting would be getting punched unexpectedly while out with friends drinking, but not intoxicated. 4ust like the other situations the +/delta and C fibers would do their work, and there would be a throbbing sensation in the part of a person&s face where they got punched. Swelling of the area would be an example of positive feedback of the body. %his scenario would closely simulate the setting of being tackled in a casual game with friends. )f a person is en1oying himself drinking with friends, they obviously would not expect to be punched.

)n this situation, though, a person&s adrenaline would kick into action. %he perception of the pain would be shielded as the rush of epinephrine came over them. 5inally, the last situation is getting into a fight while intoxicated. 5irst of all, while intoxicated, a person&s senses are not at their peak. )f a person is being hit during the fight, then the body of the person being hit would feel the punches with their senses and expect the pain, but the alcohol would numb the pain. %he sensation of the pain would be less because of the adrenaline, and the sensation of the pain would not be picked up as well. + person would perceive the pain as being in a fight plain and simple. )n this setting a person would feel more of the pain after the fight because the adrenaline would wear off, and so would the alcohol eventually. )n all these scenarios the sensation and perception of the pain differently. -uring the situations where a person is expecting the pain, the pain would be lessened due to epinephrine and endorphins. +lso a person would be able to prepare and cope with the pain. -uring the situations where the pain was unexpected, a person&s pain would be worse because of the surprise of pain. %he perception would differ because a person would be confused as to why the pain is being caused0 the situation did not permit pain to be caused. Sensation and perception are very similar because they are involved in the same process, but actually, they both have their own 1obs and do separate tasks.

*ork Cited "ockenbury 6 "ockenbury !789:$. -iscovering Psychology ;th edition. <ew =ork, <ew =ork> *orth Publishers.