Beyond the Eyes

Sensation is the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

People can easily confuse sensation and perception for their similar definitions. Sensation refers to the sense receptors: what does one feel? taste? hear? etc. Whereas perception refers to the processing of senses sent to the brain from the sensory receptors. To remember, think S is for sensation as S is for senses. Likewise, P is for perception as P is for process.

The feeling of pain demonstrates a prime example of sensation versus perception. When walking down the stairs, a child steps on the pointy end of a top. Bottom-up processing, which analyzes information sent from the senses to the brain, informs the child's brain of the pain felt and a general idea of where the puncture wound occurred. After inspecting the damage, the child learns he stepped on a toy on the staircase. After the painful experience, the child will use top-down processing to ensure such a scenario does not happen again. Top-down processing consists of drawing from previous knowledge, such as past experiences, to recognize a pattern. The child notices that toys on the stairs will lead to injury. Therefore, he will act wisely to ensure nobody else gets hurt by making sure no toys are on the stairs and no pointy objects stay on the floor.