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Difference Between Visual Sensation And Visual Perception

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Visual perception and visual sensation are both interactive processes, although there is a significant difference between the two processes. Sensation is defined as the stimulation of sense organs Visual sensation is a physiological process which means that it is the same for everyone. We absorb energy such as electro magnetic energy (light) or sound waves by sensory organs such as eyes. This energy is then transduced into electro chemical energy by the cones and rods (receptor cells) in the retina. There are four main stages of sensation. Sensation involves detection of stimuli incoming from the surrounding world, registering of the stimulus by the receptor cells, transduction or changing of the stimulus energy to an electric nerve …show more content…

For example, if one was given a picture of a triangle that was half completed and someone was asked to explain what they saw, the normal tendency would be to say that it was a triangle. Even though the triangle was half complete it could still be viewed as a triangle. This tendency is referred to as closure. The third visual perception tendency in perception is similarity. In similarity size, shape, color, or form tend to be grouped together. For example if two bands are walking down the street side by side and their uniforms are different colours, the bands will be seen as two separate groups, and not as one large group. Some of the factors that can effect visual perception are what our expectations might be, the psychological state of consciousness that you are in, and also what your past experiences might have been in past perceptions. These factors allow us to perceive the world in a different way. Attention is defined as a cluster of integrated events and processes that determine which stimuli receive further processing. Focusing ones attention on a particular object or even at is fairly easy. This is not so for every sense. Consider a game of women’s volleyball. Hardly any of the male spectators care about the game as where all of their attention is on the women who play it. Perceptual set is another factor that can effect visual perception. Perceptual set is a predisposition to perceive stimuli in a specific way;

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