Sensation in Psychology | Definition, Types & Examples
Meaning of Sensation in Psychology
- The initial experience of a stimulus or object through our specialized sensory organs is called sensation. It is a process through which we come to know about physical stimuli. The information received through our sense organs forms the basis of our knowledge. Out knowledge about surroundings depends on these three processes: sensation, attention and perception. These processes are highly interdependent hence we sensation, attention and perception. study them as different parts of cognition.
Sensory Limen
- Some stimuli are so weak or of less intensity that one cannot detect them. This means that our sense organs work in some limits. For example our ears cannot hear very low voice. Same thing applies on other sense organs too. Humans can detect stimuli which are in certain limits of intensity. The branch of Psychology that studies relationship between stimuli and the sensation they produce in a pe rson is called Psychophysics.
Absolute Limen
- A stimulus must have a minimum intensity for it to be detected by sense organs. This minimum amount of stimulus intensity required for that stimulus to be detected by sense organs is called absolute limen or absolute threshold. If the intensity of stimuli is more than this absolute limit then only a person will detect that stimulus. Similarly, if the intensity of stimuli is less than this absolute limit then a person will not detect that stimulus. Let us understand this by an example.
- If you add one granule of sugar in the water, you will not sense sweetness in water. If you add one more granule, you may still not sense sweetness. But if you keep adding sugar granule by granule, then at one point of time, you can sense sweetness of water. Here the minimum number of granules that results into sensing sweetness is the absolute limen of sweetness. Here, it is important to note that absolute limen is not a fixed point; it can be changed from time to time depending on the organic and motivational state of that person. That is why we must determine absolute limen by doing so many trials on one person. Then the minimum number of sugar granules required for sensing sweetness in 50% of the trials will be absolute limen. Similarly, absolute limen can differ from person to person. Individuals differ in their sensitivity. It is also possible that one person detects sweetness faster than another person.
Difference Limen
- Asitis not possible for us to detect every stimulus, similarly it is not possible for us to always differentiate between the stimuli. This minimum amount of difference that is necessary for finding out the difference between these stimuli is called difference limen of difference threshold. We repeat here the same sugar-water experiment to understand this. As we noted that water is sensed as sweet after adding some minimum number of sugar granules in it. Let us remember that sweetness. Then the next question arises. How many sugar granules are needed more now so that the person can sense more sweetness in comparison to his previous sweetness experience? Let us add some more sugar granules one by one and then taste it every time. After adding few granules, the person will experience that water is sweeter now. The number of sugar granules which creates more sweetness than previous sweetness in 50% of the times if known as difference limen. So the minimum amount of change that is required in a physical stimulus to experience difference in sensation in 50% of the trials is difference limen.
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