PERCEPTION: THE BUSINESS OF CREATING MEANING
Perception differs from sensation:
the immediate response in the brain caused by excitation of a sensory organ.
Specifically, perception is both more than sensation and less than sensation because perception involves
- ignoring many sensations and
- interpreting and organizing others.
Perception is less than sensation because we ignore much of what
our senses detect.
To get an idea of how much we ignore, watch one of these videos about
inattentional blindness:
Perception is more than sensation partly because we organize and interpret what we sense
| H or I? |
 |
M or W?
(It is supposed to be a W) |
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Why isn't this Under Armor logo an H? |
 |
Given that we don't always perceive the same thing the same way--and even when
we do, we may be wrong (e.g., illusions), when can we trust our senses? This is
the question that other scientists (e.g., astronomers and biologists) wanted the
science of psychology to answer. They desperately wanted answers because
astronomers were reporting different observations of the same event, biologists
had, for years, "seen" that humans have 48 chromosomes (now, they all accept
that there are 46), and physicists were seeing "N-rays"
--even though n-rays don't exist.
Unfortunately, many people do not ask whether they should trust their
perceptions. Instead, the are naive realists: people who assume that
their perceptions are accurate ("I see what's there"). Besides being wrong,
naive realists often get into trouble--or cause others trouble--when they run
into someone who does not perceive something the same way they do.
Gestalt Psychologists Show That Perception Is
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