Principles of Sensation

After a disappointing loss and end to the football season, the students at Woodlawn High School were in a sour mood on Monday. The students in Mr. Baker’s class all perceived a game-ending controversial call in different ways. In this interactivity, explore the responses of the students in Mr. Baker’s class to the final play that ended the football season. Click the player to begin,

View a printable version of the interactivity.

 

Just like a controversial call in a sports game, sometimes people see what they want to see, and miss what they do not want to see. Throughout the day, you are frequently presented with a great deal of raw information, in the form of sights, sounds, and other sensory messages. However, you have to do more than just receive this information with your senses; you must also perceive it by constructing it into a meaningful whole.

The image to the right demonstrates many of the principles of sensation and perception. Take a moment to examine the image. What do you see? Jot down your description of the image.

Explanation of the Image

In your description, did you perceive a young woman looking to the back and to the left; or an old woman looking downward? If you perceived the image as a young woman, you interpreted the black line to be her necklace, with her jawline and a small left ear above that. To see an old woman in this image, you would have perceived the black line as her lips, with a chin below that, and large nose above. Is it easier for you to perceive the young or old woman?

As you will see in this topic, both sensation and perception are required to interpret often confusing and ambiguous information from the outside world.