Sensory Perception

Sensory perception is how sensory information helps us understand and interact with the world. Basic to cognition and behavior, it’s studied in related fields of evolutionary science, psychophysics, neurobiology, cognitive psychology, and cognitive science.

• Sensation is the basic physical process of detecting/responding to sensory stimuli by special senses (sight, sound, touch), received through sensory receptors (light from a surface stimulating the eyes).
• Perception is the psychological process of selecting, organizing, and consciously experiencing received sensory information (recognizing the light is a car’s headlights).
• Sensory perception encompasses the entire process of receiving sensation (raw data) and “higher level” cognitive process that interpret sensation (processed data), making us consciously aware.