Sensations, Perceptions, and Attention Laura McCrory PSY/300 Carlton Bowden March 15th 2015 Running head: SENSATIONS, PERCEPTIONS, AND ATTENTION 1 SENSATIONS, PERCEPTIONS, AND ATTENTION 2  A. Definition Attention is a term with different meanings and can be used in various fields. For psychology, it is a quality of perception that functions as a kind of filter environmental stimuli, evaluating which are the most relevant and giving them priority for further processing. Moreover, attention is also understood as the mechanism that controls and regulates cognitive processes. Psychologists address two types of determinants of attention: internal determinants (those that are unique to the individual and depend on him) and external determinants (coming from the middle). It is understood that attention is a perceptual quality that acts as a filter of sensory stimuli. Attention can evaluate and prioritize those stimuli they consider most important (Cohen, 1993). Threshold is the lowest or small a magnitude that can generate a certain effect value. In another sense, the threshold is the smallest amount of signal that must exist to be warned by a system. The notion of threshold is linked to the physical possibilities of sensitivity. The threshold is determined as the smaller of the intensity of a stimulus that has a fifty percent chance of being recorded level. When the stimulus reaches transmit a nerve impulse, is considered the threshold. It’s called hearing threshold, therefore, the lower intensity of a sound that can detect the ear of a person. The normal value is between zero and twenty dB audiometric. 1. Auditory Stimuli Auditory information is filtered redundant very different from the novel or unusual stimuli that have shaped environmental significance. "The beep of a car is an example of how a novel stimulus may evoke a motor response as turning the head," the researcher said. This type of reaction is important for the survival of animals and even people in contexts of sensory, auditory or visual stimuli complex (Ritter, Vaughan, & Costa, 1968). Auditory system: this system, specializes in the perception of sounds. This is done through the ear, which is an organ, which also involves the maintenance of balance, this is composed of different sensory structures that identify sounds and emit impulses through the auditory nerve, reach the brain receptors such centers function. The human ear consists of three parts, the outer ear, which acts as a receiver and presents a distinction between pinna or ear and ear canal; the middle ear, the eardrum forms, which is externally bounded by the eardrum, sensitive membrane so slightly conical vibration communicating with ear icicles; The first is the hammer, attached to the tympanic membrane, as happens, is the anvil and the stirrup; this last statement with oral window marks the passage to the inner ear. The auditory system consists of the ear, with its three part, but the auditory pathways of the.

1. Sensations, Perceptions, and Attention
Laura McCrory
PSY/300
Carlton Bowden
March 15th 2015
Running head: SENSATIONS, PERCEPTIONS, AND
ATTENTION
1
SENSATIONS, PERCEPTIONS, AND ATTENTION
2
A. Definition
Attention is a term with different meanings and can be used in
various fields. For psychology, it is a quality of perception that
functions as a kind of filter environmental stimuli, evaluating
which are the most relevant and giving them priority for further
processing. Moreover, attention is also understood as the
mechanism that controls and regulates cognitive processes.
Psychologists address two types of determinants of attention:
internal determinants (those that are unique to the individual
and depend on him) and external determinants (coming from the
middle). It is understood that attention is a perceptual quality

2. that acts as a filter of sensory stimuli. Attention can evaluate
and prioritize those stimuli they consider most important
(Cohen, 1993).
Threshold is the lowest or small a magnitude that can generate a
certain effect value. In another sense, the threshold is the
smallest amount of signal that must exist to be warned by a
system. The notion of threshold is linked to the physical
possibilities of sensitivity. The threshold is determined as the
smaller of the intensity of a stimulus that has a fifty percent
chance of being recorded level. When the stimulus reaches
transmit a nerve impulse, is considered the threshold. It’s called
hearing threshold, therefore, the lower intensity of a sound that
can detect the ear of a person. The normal value is between zero
and twenty dB audiometric.
1. Auditory Stimuli
Auditory information is filtered redundant very different from
the novel or unusual stimuli that have shaped environmental
significance. "The beep of a car is an example of how a novel
stimulus may evoke a motor response as turning the head," the
researcher said. This type of reaction is important for the
survival of animals and even people in contexts of sensory,
auditory or visual stimuli complex (Ritter, Vaughan, & Costa,
1968).
Auditory system: this system, specializes in the perception of
sounds. This is done through the ear, which is an organ, which
also involves the maintenance of balance, this is composed of
different sensory structures that identify sounds and emit
impulses through the auditory nerve, reach the brain receptors
such centers function. The human ear consists of three parts, the
outer ear, which acts as a receiver and presents a distinction
between pinna or ear and ear canal; the middle ear, the eardrum
forms, which is externally bounded by the eardrum, sensitive
membrane so slightly conical vibration communicating with ear
icicles; The first is the hammer, attached to the tympanic
membrane, as happens, is the anvil and the stirrup; this last

3. statement with oral window marks the passage to the inner ear.
The auditory system consists of the ear, with its three part, but
the auditory pathways of the brain that allows us to translate the
air pressure waves into sounds and localize sound sources.
Sound waves are the stimuli that excite mechanoreceptors,
which are usually several different frequencies. This is the
result of a complex system concerning some form of electronic
transduction in the inner ear, together with brain neural systems
comparing the signals from the ears. Thanks to the mechanical
design of the ear, and the specificity of the wiring of the brain,
because the human being is capable of detecting a range of
sound between 20 and 20,000 Hz.
2. Dichotic Listening
The dichotic listening involves the simultaneous presentation of
two different auditory stimuli, one in each ear. The stimuli
presented may differ from words to syllables, letters and even
musical sounds, may also vary other parameters such as inter
and intra-stimulus interval, number of presentations or
intensity. The projections of the auditory pathway to the
cerebral cortex are ipsilateral and contralateral. This means that
the information it receives each ear is finally projected in both
cerebral hemispheres. During dichotic listening condition, the
less abundant than the contralateral, ipsilateral pathways are
inhibited. Therefore, the information received in one ear only
happens in this case the opposite cerebral hemisphere through
the corpus callosum. Thus, if there is a break in any of the
hemispheres was observed deficiency in the ear contralateral to
the lesion under the condition dichotic listening (Moray, 1959).
3. Dividing Attention
There are several classifications of attention in this regard,
which also vary depending on what criteria is used. Divided

4. attention is when one is able to pay attention to two or more
stimuli at the same time, useful in the development of complex
tasks such as driving. the division of attention, is to help us
look closely at the things that are happening around and in one,
divided attention when we cut to be objective and observe all
without stopping to engage a personification of something
(Hirst, Spelke, Reaves, Caharack, & Neisser, 1980).
4. Sensory Perception
Humans have always considered the senses a gateway to the
outside world, through which we explored our environment and
we obtained information about it, basic to ensure our survival.
Aristotle classified these natural body radars five: sight,
hearing, taste, touch and smell. And those, we have been adding
recently, others like the sense of balance, temperature, pain,
body position and movement.
The sensory system has two distinct characteristics, the first is
that the somatic sensation receptors distributed throughout the
body, the second, is that this system processes many different
types of stimuli which have different energy. To be able to
perceive and feel the stimulus, a minimal amount of energy
stimulus is needed, what is called sensory threshold. These
thresholds are not fixed because they may be influenced by: the
experience, habit, fatigue, the context in which it is present, etc.
thus being able to fall, for example, as we anticipate the
appearance of a stimulus. It is also obvious that the stimulus
could disappear more quickly, while softer the intensity of this,
falling below the threshold and absolutely losing the sensation
or perception of the stimulus. In addition to the sensory
threshold, we can find another concept related to the perception
of the stimulus, the right stimulus, which is the right amount of
energy for the stimulus is perceived clearly (Granit, 1955).

5. References
Cohen, S. B. (1993). From attention-goal psychology to belief-
desire psychology: The development of a theory of mind and its
dysfunction. Retrieved from
http://www.citeulike.org/group/890/article/633397
Granit, R. (1955). Receptors and sensory perception. Retrieved
from
http://doi.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.printFormat&uid=1955-
06625-
000&recType=psycinfo&singlerecord=1&searchresultpage=true
Hirst, W., Spelke, E. S., Reaves, C. C., Caharack, G., &
Neisser, U. (1980). Dividing attention without alternation or
automaticity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,
109(1), 98.
Moray, N. (1959). Attention in dichotic listening: Affective
cues and the influence of instructions. Quarterly Journal of
Experimental Psychology, 11(1), 56–60.
Ritter, W., Vaughan, H. G., & Costa, L. D. (1968). Orienting
and habituation to auditory stimuli: a study of short terms
changes in average evoked responses. Electroencephalography
and Clinical Neurophysiology, 25(6), 550–556.