Sensation and perception are related. Perception and sensations. Different types of sensations are characterized not only by specificity, but also by properties common to them. These properties include: quality, intensity, duration and spatial localization.

Feeling- this is an elementary mental process of reflecting the individual properties of the surrounding reality and the internal states of the body with the direct impact of stimuli on the senses.

Difference between sensation and perception: Sensations reflect individual properties, and not phenomena and objects, as in perception . Sensation is a reflection of not only properties from the external environment, but also states from the internal environment, and perception reflects the properties of only the external world surrounding us. Thus, external phenomena, acting on our senses, cause a subjective effect in the form of sensations without any counter activity of the subject in relation to the perceived impact.

Feeling functions:Cognitive- those. sensations act as channels through which we are connected with the outside world . Energy - It consists in the fact that due to the sensations the necessary level of wakefulness is maintained. Educational - is closely associated with the cognitive function and consists in the fact that the influx of sensations is necessarily necessary for a normal mental development, it is especially dangerous if sensations do not come in sensitive periods of life (periods favorable for the development of a particular mental function - at 1 year, 3 years, 13-14 years). The range of human sensations is strongly related to the way of life and the state of the body.

Classification of sensations: Exteroceptive- sensations from outside, contact and distant. Interoceptive- irritants from the internal environment, which we are sometimes not even aware of. proprioceptive- sensations from our musculoskeletal system.

Kinds: visual auditory, gustatory, tactile, organic.

Patterns of feeling: 1) there is a min. (lower threshold) and max. (upper threshold of sensations); 2) The presence of a difference threshold; 3) Adaptation (this is a change in the sensory analyzer under the influence of prolonged exposure to an irritant); 4) Sensitization (the mutual influence of the stimulus of one receptor on the work of another). Sensations do not occur immediately after the onset of the stimulus: there is a very short period of time when the stimulus is active, but there are no sensations.

Perception - this is a holistic reflection in the mind of a person of objects and phenomena that directly affect his senses as a whole, and not their individual properties, as happens during sensation. Perception is a reflection of a complex stimulus. There are four levels of perceptual action: detection, discrimination, identification and recognition. The first two relate to perceptual, the last - to identification actions.

Detection- the initial phase of development of any sensory process. At this stage, the subject can only answer the simple question of whether there is a stimulus. The next perception operation is distinction, or perception itself. Its end result is the formation of a perceptual image of the standard.

Identification is the identification of a directly perceived object with an image stored in memory, or the identification of two simultaneously perceived objects.

Identification also includes categorization (assignment of an object to a certain class of objects perceived earlier) and extraction of the corresponding standard from memory. Perception is divided into unintentional (involuntary) and intentional (arbitrary).

Unintended Perception can be caused both by the features of the surrounding objects (their brightness, unusualness), and by the correspondence of these objects to the interests of the individual. There is no predetermined goal in unintentional perception. There is also no volitional activity in it, which is why it is called involuntary. Walking, for example, along the street, we hear the noise of cars, people talking, we see shop windows, we perceive various smells.

Intentional Perception from the very beginning it is regulated by the task - to perceive this or that object or phenomenon. Intentional perception will be looking at the electrical circuit of the machine being studied, listening to a report, viewing a thematic exhibition. It can be included in any activity (in a labor operation, in the performance of an educational task), it can act as an independent activity - observation- this is an arbitrary systematic perception, which is carried out with a specific, conscious goal with the help of voluntary attention. People perceive the same information differently, subjectively, depending on their interests, needs, abilities. The dependence of perception on the content of a person's mental life, on the characteristics of his personality is apperception name.

Perceptual Properties: Integrity, i.e. perception is always a holistic image of an object. perception is formed in the process of practice.

constancy perception - thanks to it, we perceive the surrounding objects as relatively constant in shape, color, size

Structurality perceptions – perception is not a simple sum of sensations. listening to music, we perceive not individual sounds, but a melody, and recognize it Meaningfulness of perception- perception is closely connected with thinking, with understanding the essence of objects.

Selectivity perception - is manifested in the preferential selection of some objects in comparison with others.

Types of perception. There are: the perception of objects, time, the perception of relationships, movements, space, the perception of a person.

Disorder of perception. The pathology of perception occurs when, for various reasons, the identification of the subjective image of perception with the perceived image is violated, and proceeds against the background of a violation of the automation of various mental processes.

Perception V general psychology called the reflection of objects, situations or events in their integrity. It arises from the direct impact of objects on the senses. Since an integral object usually acts simultaneously on various senses, perception is a complex process. It includes in its structure a number of sensations - simple forms of reflection into which the composite process of perception can be decomposed.

Feelings in psychology, processes of reflection of only individual properties of objects of the surrounding world are called. The concept of sensation differs from the concept of perception not qualitatively, but quantitatively. For example, when a person holds a flower in his hands, admires it and enjoys its fragrance, then the holistic impression of the flower will be called perception. And separate sensations will be the aroma of a flower, the visual impression of it, the tactile impression of the hand holding the stem. However, at the same time, if a person eyes closed will inhale the fragrance of a flower without touching it, it will still be called perception. Thus, perception consists of one or more sensations that create on currently the most complete picture of the object.

Modern psychology It is recognized that sensations are the primary form of human cognition of the surrounding world. It should also be noted that although sensation is an elementary process, many complex processes are built on the basis of sensations. mental processes from perception to thought.

So, perception is a collection of sensations. For the emergence of sensations, an object of external influence and analyzers capable of perceiving this influence are necessary.

The concept of an analyzer(an apparatus that performs the function of distinguishing external stimuli) was introduced by Academician I.P. Pavlov. He also studied the structure of the analyzers and came to the conclusion that they consist of three parts.

The first, peripheral part is the receptors. These are nerve endings located in our sense organs, directly perceiving external stimuli.

The second part is the conductive paths along which excitation is transmitted from the periphery to the center.

The third part is the central part of the analyzer. These are areas of the brain responsible for recognizing the appropriate stimulus (visual, gustatory, olfactory, etc.). It is here that the impact of the stimulus is transformed into a mental process, which in psychology is called sensation.

So, the classification of sensations is built on the basis of a list of receptors, with the help of which these sensations become available.

Analyzers distinguish between two types of receptors: exteroreceptors that analyze signals coming from the outside world, and interoreceptors that analyze internal information such as hunger, thirst, pain, etc.

Exteroreceptors are the basis of perception, since they provide an objective view of the outside world.

As you know, a person has five senses. There are one more types of external sensations, since motor skills do not have a separate sense organ, but they also cause sensations. Therefore, a person can experience six types of external sensations: visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile (tactile), gustatory and kinesthetic sensations.

The main source of information about the outside world is the visual analyzer. With its help, a person receives up to 80% of the total amount of information. The organ of visual sensation is the eye. At the level of sensations, he perceives information about light and color. Colors perceived by a person are divided into chromatic and achromatic. The first include the colors that make up the spectrum of the rainbow (i.e., the splitting of light - the well-known "Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting"). To the second - black, white and gray colors. Color shades containing about 150 smooth transitions from one to another are perceived by the eye depending on the parameters of the light wave.

The auditory analyzer is next in importance in obtaining information. Sensations of sounds are usually divided into musical and noise. Their difference lies in the fact that musical sounds are created by periodic rhythmic vibrations of sound waves, and noises are created by non-rhythmic and irregular vibrations.

Many people have interesting feature- a combination of sound and visual sensations in one general feeling. In psychology, this phenomenon is called synesthesia. These are stable associations that arise between the objects of auditory perception, such as melodies, and color sensations. Often people can tell "what color" a given melody or word is.

Slightly less common is synesthesia, based on the association of color and smell. It is often inherent in people with a developed sense of smell. Such people can be found among tasters of perfumery products - not only a developed olfactory analyzer is important for them, but also synesthetic associations that allow Difficult language odors translate into a more universal language of color. In general, the olfactory analyzer, unfortunately, most often people are not very well developed. People like the hero of Patrick Suskind's novel The Perfumer are a rare and unique phenomenon.

Of great importance in people's lives is the development of the kinesthetic (motor) analyzer. Kinesthetic sensations, as mentioned above, do not have a special sense organ. They are caused by irritation of nerve endings in muscles, joints, ligaments, bones. These irritations occur when the body moves in space, during physical exertion, when performing movements associated with fine motor skills (drawing, writing, embroidery, etc.). A developed kinesthetic analyzer is important, of course, for all people. But it is especially necessary for those whose profession or hobby is connected with the performance of complex movements, when it is very important not to make a mistake. These are ballet dancers, figure skaters, climbers, circus performers and many more people in whose lives there is movement as the main factor in life.

This is followed by skin sensations, sometimes they are divided into two types: tactile (tactile) and temperature. Sometimes collectively they are called tactile. For general erudition, consider the first option. Tactile sensations allow us to distinguish the relief and surface structure of objects with which our skin comes into contact, temperature sensations allow us to feel heat or cold. This analyzer performs a compensatory function for visually impaired or blind people, as well as auditory. In addition, the tactile analyzer is the only way to communicate for deaf-blind-mute people. A learning system and language have long been developed that allow such people to fully develop their consciousness and communicate with others. This language is created on the basis of touching the skin. Every touch has its own meaning. It is roughly similar to the language of hieroglyphs.

It would seem that the taste analyzer, given to us by evolution, is useless for survival and it is not known why. This is a kind of luxury against the background of other vital sensations (moreover, the taste analyzer is much more developed in people than the olfactory one). But nature is wiser than us, we can only state, but not always analyze its quirks and unexpected generosity. So, the organs of taste sensations are the tongue and the soft part of the palate. There are zones of recognition of sweet, bitter, sour, salty. Well, a full flavor bouquet is made up of these simple sensations in the brain.

Psychophysics called a branch of psychology that studies the quantitative relationship between the strength of the stimulus and the magnitude of the sensation that occurs. This section was founded by the German psychologist Gustav Fechner. It includes two groups of problems: measuring the threshold of sensations and building psychophysical scales. The threshold of sensations is the magnitude of the stimulus that causes sensations or changes their quantitative characteristics. The minimum amount of stimulus that causes sensation is called the absolute lower threshold. The maximum value, the excess of which causes the disappearance of sensation, is called the absolute upper threshold. As an explanation, we can cite auditory stimuli that are beyond the threshold zone: infrasounds (frequency below 16 Hz) are below the threshold of sensitivity and are not yet audible, ultrasounds (frequency more than 20 kHz) go beyond the upper threshold and are no longer audible.

Adaptation of the sense organs to the stimuli acting on them is called adaptation. An increase in sensitivity with a weak action of the stimulus is called positive adaptation. Accordingly, negative adaptation is a decrease in sensitivity under the action of strong stimuli. The easiest way is visual adaptation (for example, when moving from light to dark and vice versa). It is much more difficult for a person to adapt to auditory and pain stimuli.

The magnitude of the stimulus that causes the minimum analyzable change in sensation is called differential. The dependence of the strength of sensation on the magnitude of the stimulus is described in the Weber-Fechner law. According to this law, the dependence is logarithmic. But this is not the only psychophysical view of the quantitative ratio of stimulus and sensation.

On the basis of sensations and perception in general, images are formed. In psychology, the concept of an image is ambiguous and is interpreted both in a broader and in a narrower framework. In the context of ideas about sensations and perception, an image can be defined as a product of functioning human brain, constituting a subjective picture of a particular object of the surrounding world based on objective sensations. In other words, sensation is an objective reaction of the organism, which is base element reflections. Perception is not a mechanical sum of sensations, but their totality, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. After all, we perceive the object as a whole, without dissecting it into individual properties. The image is even more complex and subjective. It includes not only a holistic view of the object, but also all kinds of characteristics that depend on the individual experience of each person. For example, snakes cause disgust or fear in someone, and someone keeps a serpentarium at home. Or, seeing a fern bush in the forest, one person imagines how well this specimen will fit into his herbarium, another thinks about arranging the bouquet, the third thinks about the mystical property of this plant one night a year to indicate the location of the treasure.

The ability to create images determines the fact that the process of perception underlies the formation of the basic mental functions of a person: thinking, memory, attention, emotional sphere. It should be noted here that in perception there are both innate and acquired qualities. Innate are the properties of analyzers given to man by nature. However, these properties can change over the course of life, both for better and for worse. For example, kinesthetics can develop if a person leads an active lifestyle, or lose their accuracy if a person moves little or leads an unhealthy lifestyle. Vision, hearing, smell can change their sharpness depending on life situation. So, in a person who has lost his sight, feelings are aggravated that compensate for this loss. Accordingly, the perception as a whole and, as a result, the images of objects change.

The process of perception is closely related to the process learning- acquisition of individual experience. There is a two-way relationship between these two processes. The child, through perception, begins to receive life experience. In an adult, experience affects the perception and formation of images.

Perception is divided into different types. They may depend on the predominance of one or another type of analyzers included in the reflective process. For example, when listening to a piece of music, auditory perception predominates. Similarly, other types of perception may predominate, which are based on any one of the sensations.

In addition, there are more complex types of perception based on several sensations. For example, when watching a movie, visual and auditory analyzers are involved.

In addition to classification based on the prevailing analyzers, there is also a classification according to the types of perceived objects themselves. This concerns the perception of space, time, movement, the perception of one person by another. Such types of perception are usually called social perception.

Under the perception of space understand the perception of the forms of objects, their spatial values ​​and relationships in three dimensions. Distinguish the perception of space with the help of vision, touch and kinesthetic apparatus. Vision gives an idea of ​​the shape, volume and size of objects. Touch forms the perception of the position and size of small objects with which a person can directly come into contact. The kinesthetic apparatus complements tactile and visual perception and makes it possible to perceive the spatial forms of relations and sizes of both small and large objects in three dimensions.

Next comes the perception of time. It reflects the duration and sequence of phenomena or events and depends on the speed of change of mental processes. Thus, the perception of time for each person is individual, since it depends on the subjective characteristics of the psyche.

The perception of movement is inseparable from spatio-temporal perception, since any movement, i.e., the movement of objects, occurs precisely in these dimensions.

It is customary to distinguish between the perception of movement relative and irrelative. The first includes the simultaneous perception of both a moving object and a certain fixed point, relative to which this object moves. The second is the perception of a moving object, isolated from the perception of other objects. For example, if a person watches the movement of a soccer ball or players across the field, this is a relative perception of movement, since his vision captures the fixed boundaries of the field. If a person sailing on the sea on a yacht watches the splash of waves or how the wind drives clouds across the sky, such a perception of movement will be irrelevant - there is no fixed point.

In addition, there are concepts such as objectivity and constancy perception. Objectivity means that a specific object is always perceived. Abstract ideas do not refer to the process of perception, but to the process of thinking or imagining. From the point of view of the modern theory of reflection, the objectivity of perception is revealed as an objective quality, due to the peculiarities of the impact of objects in the external world.

Constancy of perception means that the perceived object does not change its characteristics when it moves away from a person or approaches him, is drawn in a picture or shown on a screen. For example, the visual image of an elephant, due to the adequacy of consciousness, will be an image of a large animal, regardless of whether the elephant is in close proximity to a person, it is removed at some distance, or a person sees it on TV. (Of course, in this case we are talking about an adult who in his experience has a visual image of an elephant. Small child who does not have sufficient experience of perception, seeing in the pictures the same size elephant and mouse would not make an adequate representation without additional information.) If there are no violations of consciousness, then the visual (in this case) analyzer will correctly assess the perspective, the background on which the object is located, and the brain will give an adequate idea of ​​it. With a disorder of perception, constancy may disappear. This happens, for example, with hallucinations. In addition, distorted perception may occur. This happens with the deliberate creation of illusions - a technique used by illusionists using mirrors, appropriate lighting and other things, or with spontaneously arising illusions, when in obscure lighting a stump can be mistaken for an animal, or in a drowsy state, thunder can be perceived as gun salvos. The emergence of spontaneous perception illusions depends on many factors: personal experience, cultural traditions, social environment, the prevailing natural landscape in the area where a person lives. For example, the illusions of Europeans and Africans or urban and rural residents will differ significantly due to the above factors.

At the end of the lecture, we will review the existing theories of perception. The emergence of the first views on the nature of perception dates back to ancient times. For example, Plato believed that all objects are the materialization of the ideas of the Creator. And the perception of objects and the appearance of their images are the memory of the immortal soul, which before its incarnation was also in the world of these ideas. The idealistic approach of the ancient thinker to the views on the psyche and the process of perception subsequently did not find development in psychological science.

In the process of the formation of psychology, the associationist approach to perception began to prevail. Associative psychology is one of the main trends in the psychology of the 17th–19th centuries. The main explanatory principle of mental life was the concept of association. This term was introduced by John Locke. It means a connection that occurs under certain conditions between two or more mental formations (sensations, motor acts, perceptions, ideas, etc.). Different kinds interpretations of associative psychology were given by David Hartley, George Berkeley and David Hume.

At the beginning of the XX century. in contrast to the mechanistic associative approach to the psyche and perception as its basic function, the Gestalt psychology school was formed. The concept of gestalt - a holistic image - formed the basis of the views of this school. But the concept of this school regarding the process of perception also turned out to be unviable, although it played a big role in overcoming the mechanistic nature of the associative approach. Gestalt psychology ascribes to perception the ability to transform the action of material stimuli in the external environment. Thus, according to the views of this school, consciousness is not an objective function of the psyche, based on an adequate reflection of the surrounding world. Perception is detached from the external world, perceived as a category of subjective idealism. It loses any objectivity whatsoever.

Another step in overcoming associationism was made by M. I. Sechenov. Thanks to him, in parallel with the development of the concept of gestalt, the reflex concept of the psyche developed, which is currently accepted as the basis by many foreign scientists. psychological schools. The reflex concept of reflection is a compromise between the mechanistic materialism of the associationists and the subjective idealism of the representatives of Gestalt psychology. According to her, perception is not a mechanical process, but also is not a process completely divorced from the objective realities of the world. Perception is a creative process in its own way. It combines the real properties of the perceived object and the individual characteristics of the perceiving subject. In his book “Reflexes of the Brain”, I. M. Sechenov provided a theoretical justification for the integrity of the relationship between the organism and the external environment. And in his work “Elements of Thought”, he wrote about the process of perception as follows: “An organism without its external environment that supports existence is impossible, therefore, the environment that influences it must also be included in the scientific definition of an organism.”

In the middle of the last century in domestic psychology was formulated activity approach to the study of the psyche. One of its main authors was Academician A. N. Leontiev. This approach is characterized by the fact that each mental phenomenon is considered in connection with human activity. The process of perception is inextricably linked with activity. At each stage of ontogeny ( individual development) a person has a leading type of activity. The process of perception is directly involved in the formation of any type of activity at each age stage. In addition, with the expansion of areas of activity, perception changes qualitatively. This mutual influence is similar to the mutual influence of perception and learning. Here it is necessary to separate two concepts. In psychology, there are two terms that are synonymous with the term "perception". They are taken from Latin and introduced into the terminological apparatus of psychology precisely in order to emphasize the difference between the two types of perception. These are the terms "perception" and "apperception". Perception is the direct perception of objects in the surrounding world. Apperception is a perception that depends on a person's past experience, on its content. mental activity and his individual characteristics. Distinguish stable apperception, depending on the formed personality traits, such as worldview, beliefs or beliefs, education, and temporary apperception, depending on the situational mental state.

Psychology deals with the study of various mental phenomena, states and processes. With birth, each of us cognizes the world at all its levels with the help of the senses. We breathe in, we look around, we touch, we taste, we become aware, and so on. Psychologists subdivide these processes into and sensation.

Feeling is the first stage of information processing. There are five main types of sensations: smell, hearing, taste, touch and sight. Without them, conscious life is simply impossible. The subject would simply fall into a sleepy state. For example, sensation allows you to recognize a warm object or a cold one, bright or dull, heavy or light, etc. All our feelings are momentary. We actively react to what is happening around us, as a result of which our eye pupils move, blood vessels constrict and muscles tense. This sensory experience allows you to gain knowledge about the world around you.

How is sensation different from perception?

Perception completes the picture and forms a holistic image. It allows you to get information about objects and phenomena in general, i.e. processes the sum of sensations and generates the result. At the same time, perception includes information based on past experience and even ideas. It involves thinking, attention, memory, motor sphere, personality traits. For example, if we hold a perfume in our hand, look at the packaging, and inhale the fragrance, the whole experience will be called perception. In this case, such sensations as sight, smell and touch will be involved.

The relationship between sensation and perception

As a result of the occurrence of sensation, some sensation is generated, for example, brightness, sweetness or loudness. Perception forms a complete image in our head, which consists of puzzles of sensations. In order to learn to perceive information well, it is necessary to be able to recognize, synthesize and analyze the signs of a material object. Thus, the individual perceived details are combined into one whole that serves as the source of our experience. Violation of sensations and perception lies in the threshold of sensitivity. It can be low or high in relation to the norm. Neuropathologists are engaged in the treatment of such phenomena.

Every living being is endowed with the ability to feel from birth. But only some animals and people have perception. The ability to perceive improves over time. This helps us better understand certain processes, so it is important to work on our development and improve our perception.

Feeling- this is a reflection of the individual properties of objects and phenomena that directly affect the senses at a given moment.

Perception- this is a reflection of objects and phenomena as a whole with their direct impact on the senses.

Feeling- this is, for example, a picture that we see, a smell that we feel, a touch, and so on. But perception is everything. If, for example, we felt the roughness of the surface, saw a wooden structure, tapped it with our knuckles and heard a knock characteristic of wood, then these will all be sensations. And our mind, synthesizing all these sensations, perceives the entire school desk. Now I think everything is clear

Sensitivity thresholds

For a sensation to arise, it is necessary for the irritation to reach a certain strength. To understand this in practice, it is enough to pour a couple of grains of sugar into a glass of water. The dose is too small, you will not feel the sweet taste. Gradually add sugar until you finally feel a slight sweetish aftertaste. Now it is enough to calculate the ratio of the amount of water to the amount of sugar. This will be the lower threshold of sensitivity.

Lower threshold of sensitivity- This is the minimum amount of stimulus that causes a barely noticeable sensation.

Upper threshold of sensitivity- this is the greatest value of the stimulus at which this sensation is still preserved.

It will be difficult to find the upper threshold of sensitivity with the help of sugar, so I will give another example. You enter a dark, unlit room. Very, very dark. Nothing is visible at all. And then it slowly starts to light up. When you start to barely distinguish objects in the room, this will be the lower threshold. When the light blinds you so that you can no longer see anything, this will mean that the upper threshold of sensitivity has been crossed.

In addition to the upper and lower thresholds, there is also a distinction threshold.

The discrimination threshold is the minimum difference between two stimuli that causes a barely perceptible difference in sensations.

Types of sensations

I. According to the nature of the reflection and the location of the receptors, the following sensations are distinguished:

1. Exteroceptive sensations - sensations associated with receptors located on the surface of the body. These include: visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and skin.
2. Interoreceptive (organic) - sensations associated with receptors located in the internal organs. Organic sensations do not give precise localization, however, with their strong negative impact, they can disorganize a person's consciousness.
3. Proprioceptive sensations are kinesthetic (motor) and static sensations, the receptors of which are located in the muscles, ligaments and vestibular apparatus. Feel own movements and spatial position of the body.

II. Depending on the type of analyzer, the following types of sensations are distinguished: visual, auditory, skin, olfactory, gustatory, kinesthetic, static, vibrational, organic and pain. Sensations are also divided into distant, in which the sources are located at some distance from the surface of the human body (for example, visual and auditory sensations) and contact, resulting from the touch of certain objects on the surface of the human skin (for example, tactile and taste sensations).

The following types of sensory disturbances are distinguished:

1. Senestopathy is a variety of unpleasant, painful sensations in various parts of the body and in internal organs that do not have objective reasons for their occurrence. It can be pressure, murmuring, bursting, heat, cold, burning, transfusion, bursting, constriction, and so on. Senestopathies can be limited or widespread, located in one place for short-term episodes, starting from the age of 5-7 years, more often projecting into the abdominal cavity.
2. Hypesthesia - a decrease in the strength of sensations, a decrease in sensitivity to external stimuli. Sounds become muffled, the light seems dim, the brightness of colors fades.
3. Hyperesthesia - exacerbation of sensations, hypersensitivity to common stimuli. For example, hyperosmia is an acute perception of ordinary odors; hyperacusis - high sensitivity to ordinary sounds.
4. Paresthesia is a disorder in which there are sensations in the form of numbness, crawling, tingling in the absence of real stimuli.

Allocate the main perceptual properties:

1. Objectivity presupposes meaningfulness and integrity of images. Objects have not only color, shape, size, but also a certain functional value. For example, a piano is a musical instrument, a knife is a cutlery, boots are shoes.
2. Integrity. Separate components of the whole can act simultaneously or sequentially, but the object or phenomenon is perceived as a whole. So, listening to an orchestra, we perceive not individual instruments, not individual sounds, but the melody as a whole. The integrity of the image is formed on the basis of generalization of knowledge about the individual properties of the object.
3. Constancy - the relative constancy of the perceived shape, color, size of an object, regardless of significant changes in the objective conditions of perception. For example, a cat on a tree, on the ground, in the dark will still be recognized as a cat.
4. Generalization - the assignment of single objects to a certain class of objects that are homogeneous with it in some way.
5. Meaningfulness - provides awareness of what is perceived by a person, how the perceived correlates with his knowledge and past experience. Perceptual images have a certain meaning, even when he sees an unfamiliar object, he tries to catch in it a resemblance to familiar objects.
6. Selectivity - the selection of some objects in comparison with others, associated with activity and personal experience person. So, the actor and any outsider will pay attention to the unfolding events in the performance in different ways.

Perception also has some other properties:

1. volume - is determined by the number of objects that a person can perceive simultaneously (or sequentially per unit of time);
2. speed (or speed) - is determined by the time required to perform certain perceptual actions: detection, discrimination and identification. It is determined by the complexity of the perceived object, the experience of its perception, the speed of sensations, the psychophysiological state of a person;
3. accuracy is the correspondence of the perceptual image that has arisen, the features of the perceived object and the task facing the person;
4. completeness - the degree of such compliance;
5. reliability is the possible duration of perception with the required accuracy and the probability of adequate perception of the object under given conditions and for a given time.

Main sensation properties, most commonly used:

• quality,
• intensity,
• duration,
• spatial localization,
• absolute threshold,
• relative threshold.

Quality of feeling

Characteristics of not only sensations, but in general all characteristics can be divided into qualitative and quantitative. For example, the title of a book or its author are qualitative characteristics; the weight of a book or its length are quantitative. The quality of sensation is a property that characterizes the basic information displayed by this sensation, which distinguishes it from other sensations. One can also say this: the quality of sensation is a property that cannot be measured with the help of numbers, compared with some kind of numerical scale.

For a visual sensation, the quality can be the color of the perceived object. For taste or smell, the chemical characteristic of an object: sweet or sour, bitter or salty, floral smell, almond smell, hydrogen sulfide smell, etc.

Sometimes the quality of sensation is understood as its modality (auditory sensation, visual or otherwise). This also makes sense, because often in a practical or theoretical sense one has to talk about sensations in general. For example, during the experiment, a psychologist can ask the subject a general question: "Tell me about your feelings during ..." And then the modality will be one of the main properties of the described sensations.

Feeling intensity

Perhaps the main quantitative characteristic of sensation is its intensity. Indeed, for us great importance, we listen to quiet music or loud, it is light in the room or we can hardly see our hands.

It is important to understand that the intensity of sensation depends on two factors, which can be described as objective and subjective:

• the strength of the acting stimulus (its physical characteristics),
• the functional state of the receptor on which the stimulus acts.

The more significant the physical parameters of the stimulus, the more intense the sensation. For example, the higher the amplitude of a sound wave, the louder the sound appears to us. And the higher the sensitivity of the receptor, the more intense the sensation. For example, being in a dark room after a long stay and going out into a moderately lit room, you can "go blind" from bright light.

Duration of sensation

The duration of sensation is another important characteristic of sensation. It, as the name implies, denotes the time of existence of the sensation that has arisen. Paradoxically, but the duration of sensation is also influenced by objective and subjective factors.

The main factor, of course, is objective - the longer the action of the stimulus, the longer the sensation. However, the duration of sensation is also affected by the functional state of the sense organ, and some of its inertness.

Suppose the intensity of some stimulus first gradually increases, then gradually decreases. For example, it can be a sound signal - from zero strength it grows to a clearly audible one, and then decreases again to zero strength. We do not hear a very weak signal - it is below the threshold of our perception. Therefore, in this example, the duration of the sensation will be less than the objective duration of the signal. At the same time, if our hearing had previously perceived strong sounds for a long period and did not have time to “depart” yet, then the duration of the sensation of a weak signal will be even less, because the perception threshold is high.

After the beginning of the impact of the stimulus on the sense organ, the sensation does not occur immediately, but after some time. The latent period of different types of sensations is not the same. For tactile sensations - 130 ms, for pain - 370 ms, for taste - only 50 ms. The sensation does not arise simultaneously with the beginning of the action of the stimulus and does not disappear simultaneously with the termination of its action. This inertia of sensations is manifested in the so-called aftereffect. The visual sensation, as you know, has some inertia and does not disappear immediately after the cessation of the action of the stimulus that caused it. The trace from the stimulus remains in the form of a consistent image.

Spatial localization of sensation

A person exists in space, and the stimuli that act on the sense organs are also located at certain points in space. Therefore, it is important not only to perceive the sensation, but also to spatially localize it. The analysis carried out by the receptors gives us information about the localization of the stimulus in space, that is, we can tell where the light comes from, it's warm or which part of the body is affected by the stimulus.

Absolute threshold of sensation

The absolute threshold of sensation is those minimum physical characteristics of the stimulus, starting from which a sensation arises. Stimuli, the strength of which lies below the absolute threshold of sensation, do not give sensations. By the way, this does not mean at all that they do not have any effect on the body. G. V. Gershuni's studies have shown that sound stimuli below the threshold of sensation can cause a change in the electrical activity of the brain and even dilation of the pupil. The zone of influence of irritants that do not cause sensations was called by G.V. Gershuni "subsensory area".

There is not only a lower absolute threshold, but also the so-called upper one - the value of the stimulus at which it ceases to be perceived adequately. Another name for the upper absolute threshold is the pain threshold, because when we overcome it, we experience pain: pain in the eyes when the light is too bright, pain in the ears when the sound is too loud, etc. However, there are some physical characteristics of stimuli that are not related to the intensity of exposure. Such, for example, is the frequency of sound. We do not perceive either very low frequencies or very high ones: the approximate range is from 20 to 20,000 Hz. However, ultrasound does not cause us pain.

Relative threshold of sensation

The relative threshold of sensation is also an important characteristic. Can we distinguish between the weight of a pood weight and a balloon? Can we tell the weight of two sticks of sausage that look the same in the store? It is often more important to evaluate not an absolute characteristic of a sensation, but just a relative one. This kind of sensitivity is called relative, or difference.

It is used both to compare two different sensations, and to determine changes in one sensation. Suppose we heard a musician play two notes on his instrument. Were the pitches of these notes the same? or different? Was one sound louder than the other? or was not?

The relative threshold of sensation is that minimum difference in physical characteristic sensation that will be noticeable. Interestingly, for all types of sensation there is a general pattern: the relative threshold of sensation is proportional to the intensity of sensation. For example, if you need to add three grams (no less) to a load of 100 grams (no less) to feel the difference, then you need to add six grams to a load of 200 grams for the same purpose.

Studies have shown that for a particular analyzer this ratio of the relative threshold to the intensity of the stimulus is a constant. In the visual analyzer, this ratio is approximately 1/1000. In the auditory - 1/10. Tactile has 1/30.

Development of sensations

Sensations can and should develop, and this process begins immediately after the birth of a child. Experiments and simple observations show that already after a short time after birth, the child begins to respond to stimuli of all kinds.

Sensations of different modalities have different dynamics in development, the degree of their maturity in different periods different. Immediately after birth, the child's skin sensitivity is most developed. Perhaps this is due to the fact that in the process of phylogenesis this sensitivity is the oldest.

When observing a newborn, you can notice that the baby is trembling due to the difference in the mother's body temperature and air temperature. A newborn child also reacts to simple touches. The lips and the entire area of ​​the mouth are most sensitive at this age. Obviously, this is due to the need to eat. Newborns also experience pain.

Already in the first days after birth, the child has a highly developed taste sensitivity. Newborn children react differently to the introduction of a solution of quinine or sugar into their mouth. A few days after birth, the baby distinguishes mother's milk from sweetened water, and the latter from plain water.

Olfactory sensitivity, especially related to nutrition, is very well developed in newborns. Newborn babies determine by the smell of their mother's milk whether the mother is in the room or not. If a child has been fed mother's milk for the first week, then he will turn away from cow's milk as soon as he smells it.

Olfactory sensations have a long way to go. Even at the age of four or five, a child's sense of smell is far from perfect.

Vision and hearing in their development go through a more complex path, which includes a number of stages. These bodies are much more complex, they are busy processing huge amounts of information and therefore require high organization functioning.

In fact, so to speak, people are born blind and deaf. In the first days after birth, a typical baby does not respond to sounds, even very loud ones. The ear canal of a newborn is filled with amniotic fluid, which resolves only after a few days. Usually the child begins to react to sounds during the first week, sometimes this period is delayed up to two or three weeks.

When a child begins to hear, his reactions to sound have the character of a general motor excitation, in particular:

• child throws up arms
• wiggles his legs,
• lets out a loud scream.

Sensitivity to sound gradually increases in the first weeks of life.

After two or three months, the child begins to find the direction to the source of the sound. Outwardly, this is manifested in the fact that he turns his head towards this source. Starting from the third or fourth month, some children begin to respond to singing and music.

As soon as the child begins to hear normally, he gradually develops speech hearing. He begins to distinguish his mother's voice from the voices of other people. Already in the first months of life, the cooing of the child in its timbre begins to correlate with the mother's voice.

In his explicit reactions, the child first of all begins to react to the intonation of speech. This is observed in the second month of life, when the gentle tone has a calming effect on the child.

In the future, it is possible to detect the child's reaction to the perception of the rhythmic side of speech and the general sound pattern of words.

A fairly accurate distinction between speech sounds, which creates the necessary minimum for the formation of one's own speech, occurs only by the end of the first year of life. From this moment, the development of speech hearing proper begins. The ability to distinguish vowels occurs earlier than the ability to distinguish consonants.

The child's vision develops even more slowly. The absolute sensitivity to light in newborns is very low, but increases markedly in the first days of life. From the moment the visual sensations appear, the child reacts to light with various motor reactions.

Color differentiation grows slowly. It is not until the fifth month that color discrimination usually sets in, after which the child begins to show interest in brightly chromatic objects.

Another obstacle that a child must overcome is a mismatch in eye movements. The child begins to feel light, but at first cannot see objects. One eye may look in one direction, the other in the other, or may be closed altogether. The child begins to control the movement of the eyes only by the end of the second month of life.

In the third month, the child begins to distinguish between objects and faces. At the same time it starts Long procces development of perception of space, shapes of objects, their sizes and removal.

In the process of developing sensations of all modalities, one more circumstance is important - one must learn to distinguish between sensations. Although by the end of the first year the absolute sensitivity reaches high level, discrimination of sensations is improved in school years.

It is also important to note that in the dynamics of the development of sensations, individual differences: genetic characteristics, the health of the child, the presence of a rather rich sensations of the environment. The process of developing sensations within certain (not very large) limits can be controlled: with the help of regular training, acquaintance with new stimuli. The development of hearing in infancy can be a good start for a further musical career.

The development of perception is a process of qualitative modification of the processes of perception as the organism grows and individual experience accumulates. It is typical for a person that the most significant changes in perception occur in the first years of a child's life. At the same time, the assimilation of sensory standards and techniques for examining stimuli, developed by society, plays a decisive role. Already before reaching the age of six months, in conditions of interaction with adults, active search actions arise: the child looks to see, grasps and feels objects with his hand. On this basis, intersensory connections are formed between various receptor systems (visual, auditory, tactile). So the child becomes able to perceive complex complex stimuli, recognize and differentiate them. At the age of 6–12 months, the motor system develops rapidly, and objective actions and manipulations act as the leading activity, which requires constant perception. At the same time, reproducing movements that model the features of perceived objects become the main way of perception. In the future, the development of perception occurs in the closest connection with the development of various types of children's activities (play, visual, constructive, and elements of labor and educational). After reaching the age of four, it acquires relative independence.

Physiological basis of perception

The activity of perception as a mental process is provided by the processes taking place in the sense organs, nerve fibers and the central nervous system.

Under the action of stimuli in the endings of the nerves present in the sense organs, nervous excitation occurs, which is transmitted along the conductive pathways to the nerve centers and, ultimately, to the cerebral cortex. Here, nervous excitation enters the projection (sensory) zones of the cortex, which thus represent the central projection of the nerve endings present in the sense organs. Different projection zones are associated with different sense organs, and depending on which organ the projection zone is associated with, certain sensory information is formed.

The mechanism described up to this point is the mechanism for the emergence of sensations. These sensations - almost literally - are a reflection of the surrounding reality. Just as the surrounding objects are reflected in a mirror or in a photograph, the same objects are reflected in the projection zones, only in the form of nervous excitations, from point to point.

With sensations, the process of perception only begins. Own physiological mechanisms perceptions are included in the process of forming a holistic image of an object at subsequent stages, when the excitation from the projection zones is transmitted to the integrative zones of the cerebral cortex, where the formation of images of real world phenomena is completed. Therefore, the integrative zones of the cerebral cortex, which complete the process of perception, are often called perceptual zones. Their function differs significantly from the functions of the projection zones.

The difference in the work of the projection and integrative zones is found when the activity of one or another zone is disturbed in a person. If the work of the visual projection zone is disturbed, the so-called central blindness occurs, that is, if the periphery - the sense organs - is in full working order, the person is completely deprived of visual sensations, he sees nothing at all. If the integrative zone is affected (while the projection zone is preserved), the person sees separate light spots, some contours, but does not understand what he sees. He ceases to comprehend what affects him, he does not even recognize well-known objects and people.

A similar picture is observed in other modalities. In violation of the auditory integrative zones, people cease to understand human speech. Such diseases are called agnostic disorders (disorders leading to the impossibility of cognition), or agnosia,

Perception is closely related to motor activity, emotional experiences, thought processes, and this further complicates understanding. physiological foundations perception. Having begun in the sense organs, nervous excitations caused by external stimuli pass to the nerve centers, where they cover various zones of the cortex and interact with other nervous excitations. This whole complex network of excitations grows. Interacting excitations widely cover different areas of the cortex.

In the process of perception, temporal neural connections are of great importance. Just as a pen and a piece of paper help to count in a column, so temporary neural connections provide the perception with the ability to make hypotheses, which are necessary for a deep analysis of the perceived situation. Temporary neural connections that provide the process of perception can be of two types:

• connections formed within the same analyzer,
• interanalyzer connections.

The first type of connections takes place when a complex stimulus of one modality is exposed to the body. For example, such an irritant is a melody, which is a kind of combination of individual sounds that affect the auditory analyzer. This whole complex acts as one complex stimulus. In this case, neural connections are formed not only in response to the stimuli themselves, but also to their relationship - temporal, spatial, etc. (the so-called reflex to the relationship). As a result, the process of integration, or complex synthesis, takes place in the cerebral cortex.

Interanalyzer nerve connections are formed under the influence of a complex stimulus. These are connections within different analyzers, the emergence of which I.M. Sechenov explained by the existence of associations (visual, kinesthetic, tactile, etc.). These associations in a person are necessarily accompanied by an auditory image of the word, due to which perception acquires a holistic character.

Thanks to the connections formed between analyzers, we reflect in perception such properties of objects or phenomena for the perception of which there are no specially adapted analyzers (for example, the size of an object, specific gravity).

Thus, the complex process of constructing a perception image is based on systems of intra-analyzer and inter-analyzer connections that provide the best conditions for seeing stimuli and taking into account the interaction of the properties of an object as a complex whole. But besides this, different parts of the brain directly and indirectly influence the process of perception. Even, for example, the frontal lobes have some participation in the processes of perception, ensuring the purposefulness of this process.

In psychopathology, sensory disorders are identified, which include: hyperesthesia, hypoesthesia, anesthesia, paresthesia and senestopathy, as well as a phantom symptom.

1. Hyperesthesia is a violation of sensitivity, which is expressed in the super-strong perception of light, sound, smell. It is typical for conditions after somatic diseases, traumatic brain injury. Patients may perceive the rustling of leaves in the wind as rumbling iron, and natural light as very bright.
2. Hypothesia - decreased sensitivity to sensory stimuli. The environment is perceived as faded, dull, indistinguishable. This phenomenon is typical of depressive disorders.
3. Anesthesia - most often loss of tactile sensitivity, or functional loss of the ability to perceive taste, smell, individual items, typical of dissociative (hysterical) disorders.
4. Paresthesia - a feeling of tingling, burning, crawling. Usually in zones corresponding to the zones of Zakharyin - Ged. Typical for somatoform mental disorders and somatic diseases. Paresthesias are due to the peculiarities of blood supply and innervation, which differ from senestopathies. The heaviness under the right hypochondrium has long been familiar to me, and occurs after fatty foods, but sometimes it spreads into pressure over the right collarbone and into the right shoulder joint.
5. Senestopathy - complex unusual sensations in the body with experiences of movement, transfusion, flow. Often frivolous and expressed in unusual metaphorical language, for example, patients talk about the tickling moving inside the brain, the transfusion of fluid from the throat to the genitals, stretching and constriction of the esophagus. I feel, says patient S., that ... as if the veins and vessels were empty, and air is being pumped through them, which must necessarily enter the heart and it will stop. Sort of like swelling under the skin. And then pushes of bubbles and boiling of blood.
6. Phantom syndrome is noted in persons with loss of limbs. The patient represses the absence of a limb and seems to feel pain or movement in the missing limb. Often such experiences arise after awakening and are supplemented by dreams in which the patient sees himself with a missing limb.

Perceptual disturbances in various mental illnesses have different causes and different forms of manifestation. With local lesions of the brain, one can distinguish:

1. Elementary and sensory disorders (violation of the sense of height, color perception, etc.). These disorders are associated with lesions of the subcortical levels of the analyzer systems.
2. Complex gnostic disorders reflecting impairment different types perception (perception of objects, spatial relationships). These disorders are associated with damage to the cortical areas of the brain.

Gnostic disorders differ depending on the lesion of the analyzer, while they are divided into visual, auditory and tactile agnosia.

Agnosia - a disorder of recognition of objects, phenomena, parts own body, their defects with the preservation of the consciousness of the external world and self-consciousness, as well as in the absence of violations of the peripheral and conductive parts of the analyzers. Agnosia may result from the destruction of certain cortical areas (encephalitis, tumor, vascular process, etc.), as well as due to neurodynamic disorders.

Visual agnosias are divided into:

1. object agnosia (patients do not recognize objects and their images);
2. agnosia for colors and fonts;
3. optical-spatial agnosia (the understanding of the symbolism of the drawing, which reflects the spatial qualities of the drawing, is violated, the ability to convey the spatial features of the object in the drawing disappears: further, closer, more-less, top-bottom, etc.).

With auditory disorders, there is a decrease in the ability to differentiate sounds and understand speech, patients cannot remember two or more sound standards), arrhythmia (they cannot correctly assess rhythmic structures, the number of sounds and the order of alternations), a violation of the intonation side of speech (patients do not distinguish intonations and they have inexpressive speech).

Tactile agnosia is a violation of the recognition of objects when they are felt while maintaining tactile sensitivity (study with eyes closed).

3. Illusions - an erroneous, false perception of a really existing object, object or phenomenon.

Physiological - based on the normal operation of the analyzers. When we see moving clouds and the moon, it seems to us that the moon is moving and the background is stable. (Houses-street).

Physical - based on the laws of physics. Spoon in a glass. Muller-Luer illusions are directly related to the perception of a person by a person: if the observed person has his arms raised, he seems taller than the one with lowered shoulders, although their torso sizes are the same.

Illusion of Danzio (the segment in the corner seems larger)

Poggendorff illusion (A is an extension of C, but A seems to be an extension of B)

Affective - with emotional overstrain. Child-fear of the dark-cloak-man.

Interpretive - with personality and pathocharacterological disorders. In the group they say-hears their name.

Paraeidolic - visual illusions with fantastic content. In the drawing of the carpet he sees an animal.

4. Hallucinations - false perceptions that arise in the content of consciousness without external stimuli, i.e. without a real object is a delusion of perception.

Classification

• Simple: Visual (photopsy - flashing flies before the eyes); Auditory (acthemas - Door creak, noise of steps; Phonemes - simple speech hallucinations in the form of speech sounds, syllables).
• Complex: Auditory (Voices in the form of an order - imperative, insulting, laudatory); Visual (scene-like, zoopsychic); Tactile; Olfactory.
• True - in objective space, are perceived clearly, brightly, are not accompanied by a sense of danger, there is no criticism.
• False (pseudo-hallucinations) - Kandinsky described, in the subjective space, they are not perceived clearly, not brightly, muffled, accompanied by a sense of danger, there is formal criticism.
• Psychosensory disorders - distortion of the perception of objects: Metamorphopsia (doubling the object, increasing the size); Autometamorphopsia - violation of the body scheme; Violation of the perception of time (intoxication with cannabinoids).
• depersonalization - a disorder in the perception of one's own personality;
• poverty of participation - loss of perception of complex emotions;
• derealization is a distorted perception of the world around. This also includes symptoms of "already seen" (de ja vu), "never seen" (ja mais vu);

Psychology and esotericism

The relevance of the chosen topic lies in the fact that when feeling, perceiving, visually imagining any object, any phenomenon, a person must somehow analyze, generalize, concretize in other words, think about what is reflected in sensations and perceptions. Therefore, without the participation of mental processes: perceptions and sensations human activity impossible. Issues discussed during the lecture: General characteristics Sensations and Perception Properties of perception Types of perception Properties of sensations Types of sensations General ...

Lecture on General Psychology on the topic: "Sensations and Perception"

Introduction

The topic of today's lecture is "Sensation and Perception". The relevance of the chosen topic lies in the fact that when feeling, perceiving visually imagining any object, any phenomenon, a person must somehow analyze, generalize, concretize, in other words, think about what is reflected in sensations and perceptions. In order to satisfy their needs, communicate, play, study and work, a person must perceive the world, pay attention to certain moments or components of activity, imagine what he needs to do, remember, think, and express judgments. Consequently, without the participation of mental processes: perception and sensation, human activity is impossible.

Questions considered during the lecture:

1. Perceptual Properties
2. Types of perception
3. Properties of sensations
4. Types of sensations

General characteristics Sensations and Perceptions

Perception in general psychology is called the reflection of objects, situations or events in their integrity. It arises from the direct impact of objects on the senses. Since an integral object usually acts simultaneously on various senses, perception is a complex process. It includes in its structure a number of sensations simple forms of reflection into which the composite process of perception can be decomposed.

Feelings in psychology, processes of reflection of only individual properties of objects of the surrounding world are called. The concept of sensation differs from the concept of perception not qualitatively, but quantitatively. For example, when a person holds a flower in his hands, admires it and enjoys its fragrance, then the holistic impression of the flower will be called perception. And separate sensations will be the aroma of a flower, the visual impression of it, the tactile impression of the hand holding the stem. However, at the same time, if a person with closed eyes inhales the fragrance of a flower without touching it, it will still be called perception. Thus, perception consists of one or more sensations that create the most complete idea of ​​the object at the moment.

Modern psychology recognizes that sensations are the primary form of human cognition of the surrounding world. It should also be noted that although sensation is an elementary process, many complex mental processes are built on the basis of sensations, starting with perception and ending with thinking.

So, perception is a collection of sensations. For the emergence of sensations, an object of external influence and analyzers capable of perceiving this influence are necessary.

1. Perception properties:

1. Objectivity of perception - the ability to reflect objects and phenomena of reality not in the form of a set of sensations that are not related to each other, but in the form of individual objects. The visual image refers to certain subject or a phenomenon in the outside world. This ratio is the basis of the orienting function of our behavior and activities.

2. Integrity i.e. perception is always a holistic image of an object. However, the ability of a holistic visual perception subjects is not innate.

3. Constancy of perception - thanks to it, we perceive the surrounding objects as relatively constant in shape, color, size, etc. The source of the constancy of perception is the active actions of the perceptual system (the system of analyzers that provide the act of perception). Multiple perception of the same objects under different conditions makes it possible to single out a relatively constant invariant structure of the perceived object. The constancy of perception is not an innate property, but an acquired one.

4. Structured perception - perception is not a simple sum of sensations. We perceive a generalized structure actually abstracted from these sensations.

5. Meaningfulness of perception - perception is closely connected with thinking with an understanding of the essence of objects.

6. Selectivity of perception - is manifested in the preferential selection of some objects in comparison with others.

1. Types of perception

Types of perception are rarely found in their pure form. Usually they are combined, and as a result, complex types of perception arise. The basis of another classifier of types of perception is the forms of existence of matter: space, time and motion. In accordance with this classification, space perception, time perception, and motion perception are distinguished. Separately stands out the perception of man by man.

Perception of the size and shape of objects. When perceiving the size and shape of objects, their image on the retina is of great importance.

In the perception of time, there is a tendency to exaggerate small and underestimate large periods of time. The perception of the duration of time depends on the content of human activity. Time filled with interesting, meaningful things flows quickly. If the events are uninteresting, unimportant, time drags on slowly. Students do not notice how “time flies” in the classroom when they are busy with active activities. The attitude of personality also affects the estimation of time. The expectation of the unpleasant causes the perception of the rapid passage of time. Conversely, when waiting for a pleasant or desired event, it seems that it does not come for a long time.

The perception of movement is a reflection of the direction and speed of the spatial existence of objects. It enables people and animals to navigate the relative changes in the relationship and mutual arrangement of environmental objects. A person receives knowledge about the movement of objects by directly perceiving the movement

1. Properties of sensations

The intensity of sensation is its quantitative characteristic and is determined by the strength of the acting stimulus and functional state receptor. The duration of a sensation is its temporal characteristic. It is also determined by the functional state of the sense organ, but mainly by the duration of the stimulus and its intensity. When a stimulus is applied to a sense organ, sensation does not occur immediately, but after some time, which is called the latent (hidden) period of sensation. The latent period for different types of sensations is not the same: for tactile sensations, for example, it is 130 milliseconds, for pain 370 milliseconds. The taste sensation occurs 50 milliseconds after the application of a chemical stimulus to the surface of the tongue. Just as a sensation does not arise simultaneously with the beginning of the action of the stimulus, it does not disappear simultaneously with the termination of its action. A similar phenomenon occurs in other analyzers. For example, auditory, temperature, pain and taste sensations also continue for some time after the action of the stimulus.

Sensations are also characterized by the spatial localization of the stimulus.

Contact sensations (tactile, pain, taste) correspond to that part of the body that is affected by the stimulus. At the same time, the localization of pain sensations is diffuse and less accurate than tactile sensations. Various sense organs that give us information about the state of the external world around us can display these phenomena with greater or lesser accuracy.

1. Types of sensations

There are the following bases for the classification of sensations:

By the presence or absence of direct contact with the stimulus that causes sensation;

According to the location of the receptors;

By the time of occurrence in the course of evolution;

According to the modality (kind) of the stimulus.

According to the presence or absence of direct contact of the receptor with the stimulus that causes sensation, distant and contact reception are distinguished. Vision, hearing and smell are related to distant reception. These types of sensations provide orientation in the nearest environment. Taste pain tactile sensations - contact. According to the modality of the stimulus, sensations are divided into visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, static, and kinesthetic temperature pain cravings for hunger. Let us briefly describe each of these types of sensations. visual sensations. They arise as a result of exposure to light rays (electromagnetic waves) on the sensitive part of our eye - the retina, which is the receptor of the visual analyzer.

auditory sensations. These sensations are also distant and are also of great importance in human life. Thanks to them, a person hears speech and has the opportunity to communicate with other people. Sound waves are irritants for hearing sensations.

vibration sensations. Vibration sensitivity is adjacent to auditory sensations. They share the nature of reflected physical phenomena. Vibration sensations reflect vibrations of an elastic medium. This type of sensitivity is figuratively called "contact hearing".Olfactory sensations. They refer to distant sensations that reflect the smells of objects around us. Olfactory organs are olfactory cells located in the upper part of the nasal cavity. The group of contact sensations includes gustatory skin sensations (painful tactile temperature sensations).

Taste sensations. Caused by the action on the taste buds of substances dissolved in saliva or water. Taste buds - taste buds located on the surface of the tongue of the pharynx of the palate - distinguish between the sensations of sweet, sour, salty and bitter.

Skin sensations. There are several analyzer systems in the skin: tactile (sensations of touch), temperature (sensations of cold and heat), and pain. The system of tactile sensitivity is unevenly distributed throughout the body. Tactile sensitivity gives knowledge about the qualities of an object, and pain sensations signal the body about the need to move away from the stimulus and have a pronounced emotional tone. Temperature sensations - associated with the regulation of heat transfer between the body and environment. The distribution of heat and cold receptors on the skin is uneven. The back is most sensitive to cold, the chest is the least sensitive.

A special place and role in human life and activity is occupied by interoceptive (organic) sensations that arise from receptors located in the internal organs and signal the functioning of the latter. These sensations form the organic feeling (well-being) of a person.

Conclusion

Living and acting, resolving in the course of his life the practical tasks that confront him, a person perceives the environment. Perceiving, a person not only sees, but also looks, not only hears, but also listens, and sometimes he not only looks, but examines or peers, not only listens, but also listens. Perception is a form of cognition of reality. But how to explain the fact that we all perceive the same thing? One might think that from birth, culture takes over the regulation of brain activity in such a way that the brain learns to make the same calculations that are characteristic of all members of a given group. Differences in the perception of the world, life, death and so on in different cultures would seem to confirm this. Pribram is of the opinion (Godefroy J) that this approach should fundamentally change our understanding of reality. This does not mean that old models will be discarded. They are likely to enter into a broader and richer vision of the world, which will allow us to explain the Universe, of which we ourselves are a part.

Thus, our perception of the environment is the result of the interpretation of signals picked up by antennas tuned to the outside world. These antennae are our receptors; eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin. We are also sensitive to signals from our inner world, to mental images and to memories stored in memory on a more or less conscious level.

Bibliography

Psychological Dictionary / Ed. V. P. Zinchenko, B. G. Meshcheryakova - M .: Steamboat, 1996

Rubinshtein, S.N. Fundamentals of General Psychology / S.N. Rubinstein - St. Petersburg: Alfa, 1999