Sensation and Perception

Our sensory organs receive stimuli and send messages to our brain 

• Transduction – the process these messages go through or use to understand what it is we are seeing, hearing, and touching 

Sensory adaptation – decreasing responsiveness to stimuli due to constant stimulation. When we lower paying attention to a stimuli because we get used to it. 

Sensory habituation – our perception of sensations is partially due to how focused we are on them. We increase or decrease the attention we give stimuli based off of how focused we are on them. 

Cocktail Party phenomenon – When you are at a party or in a room and someone says your name from across the room, your attention will involuntary turn towards that side of the room.