2. Sensation and Perception Sensation is what our senses do to make us aware of a stimulus, such as a tree or someone calling our name or cupcakes baking in the oven. Perception is what our brain does with the information that allows us to form a concept of the stimulus: the sight of the tree, the sound of a friend’s voice calling or name, or the sweet smell of the baking cupcakes. However, the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches we experience are not a property of the stimulus itself, but a reaction of neurons in your brain to these particular stimuli.
3. Sensation and Perception Each of the receptors for the various senses in our brain (for vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) is specialized to use one kind of energy and convert that energy into an electrochemical pattern in our brain. The activity of your brain in response to the stimuli does not duplicate the object that your senses respond to, but the representation of that object that the brain has built because of our experiences using our various senses in our world. A certain pattern of activity in our neurons allows us to experience “green tree” or “familiar voice” or “baking cupcakes.”
