The Difference Between Sensation & Perception (AQA GCSE Psychology): Revision Note

Sensation is the physical stimulation of sense receptors by the environment

• e.g. light striking the retina at the back of the eye, or sound waves reaching the ear

It is the raw input stage: sensation is the information detected by the senses, before the brain has made sense of it (i.e perception)

Each of the five senses has its own receptors which detect a different type of stimulus:

• The eyes detect visual information (light), e.g. the sight of a burger

• The ears detect auditory information (sound waves), e.g. the burger sizzling on the hot-plate

• The nose detects olfactory information (chemicals in the air), e.g. the smell of the burger

• The tongue detects gustatory information (chemicals in food), e.g. the flavour of the burger

• The skin detects tactile information (pressure, temperature), e.g. the texture of the burger in the hands

Perception is the process by which the brain interprets and organises sensory information, giving meaning to what the senses detect

Sensation provides the raw data; perception is what the brain does with it

• e.g. light hitting the retina is sensation, recognising the pattern of light as a sunset is perception

Without perception, sensations would be meaningless – a sunset would be experienced as a set of shapes and colours rather than 'a beautiful sunset'

Perception draws on past experience and stored knowledge (schemas) to make sense of new input

• e.g. 'This is a burger – I eat it'; 'This is a bed – I lie on it'

This allows us to identify objects and events and respond to them appropriately

Perception is usually fast and automatic – you don't consciously 'work out' that milk has gone off, the brain interprets the smell instantly – but it is still an active cognitive process, not a passive recording of reality