Sensation is a general concept. General concept of sensations

Sensation is one of the simplest and at the same time important psychological processes that signal what is happening at a given moment in time in the environment around us and in our own body. It gives people the opportunity to navigate the conditions that surround them and connect their actions and actions with them. That is, sensation is cognition of the environment.

Feelings - what are they?

Sensations are a reflection of certain properties that are inherent in an object, with their direct impact on human or animal senses. With the help of sensations, we gain knowledge about objects and phenomena, such as, for example, shape, smell, color, size, temperature, density, taste, etc., we capture various sounds, comprehend space and make movements. Sensation is the primary source that gives a person knowledge about the world around him.

If a person were deprived of absolutely all senses, then he would not be able to understand the environment by any means. After all, it is sensation that gives a person the material for the most complex psychological processes, such as imagination, perception, thinking, etc.

For example, those people who are blind from birth will never be able to imagine what blue, red or any other color looks like. And a person who has been deaf since birth has no idea what his mother’s voice, the purr of a cat or the babbling of a stream sounds like.

So, sensation is in psychology what is generated as a result of irritation of certain sense organs. Then irritation is an effect on the sense organs, and irritants are phenomena or objects that in one way or another affect the sense organs.

Sense organs - what are they?

We know that sensation is a process of cognition of the environment. And with the help of what do we feel, and therefore understand the world?

Even in ancient Greece, five sense organs and sensations corresponding to them were identified. We have known them since school. These are auditory, olfactory, tactile, visual and gustatory sensations. Since sensation is a reflection of the world around us, and we use not only these senses, modern science has significantly increased information about the possible types of feelings. In addition, the term “sense organs” today has a conditional interpretation. “Sensation organs” is a more accurate name.

The endings of the sensory nerve are the main part of any sense organ. They are called receptors. Millions of receptors have sensory organs such as the tongue, eye, ear and skin. When a stimulus acts on a receptor, a nerve impulse occurs that is transmitted along the sensory nerve to certain areas of the cerebral cortex.

In addition, there is sensory experience that is generated internally. That is, not as a result of physical impact on the receptors. Subjective sensation is such an experience. One example of this sensation is tinnitus. In addition, the feeling of happiness is also a subjective feeling. Thus, we can conclude that subjective sensations are individual.

Types of sensations

In psychology, sensation is a reality that affects our senses. Today, there are about two dozen different sensory organs that reflect the impact on the human body. All types of sensations are the result of exposure to various stimuli on the receptors.

Thus, sensations are divided into external and internal. The first group is what our senses tell us about the world, and the second is what our own body signals to us. Let's look at them in order.

External senses include visual, gustatory, olfactory, tactile and auditory.

Visual sensations

This is a feeling of color and light. All objects that surround us have some color, while a completely colorless object can only be one that we cannot see at all. There are chromatic colors - various shades of yellow, blue, green and red, and achromatic - these are black, white and intermediate shades of gray.

As a result of the impact of light rays on the sensitive part of our eye (retina), visual sensations arise. There are two types of cells in the retina that respond to color - rods (about 130) and cones (about seven million).

The activity of cones occurs only during the daytime, but for rods, on the contrary, such light is too bright. Our vision of color is the result of the work of cones. At dusk, rods become active, and a person sees everything in black and white. By the way, this is where the famous expression comes from: that all cats are gray at night.

Of course, the less light, the worse a person sees. Therefore, in order to prevent unnecessary eye strain, it is strongly recommended not to read at dusk or in the dark. Such strenuous activity has a negative impact on vision and may lead to the development of myopia.

Auditory sensations

There are three types of such sensations: musical, speech and noise. In all these cases, the auditory analyzer identifies four qualities of any sound: its strength, pitch, timbre and duration. In addition, he perceives the tempo-rhythmic features of sounds perceived sequentially.

Phonemic hearing is the ability to perceive speech sounds. Its development is determined by the speech environment in which the child is raised. Well-developed phonemic hearing significantly influences the accuracy of written speech, especially during primary school, while a child with poorly developed phonetic hearing makes many mistakes when writing.

A baby’s musical ear is formed and develops in the same way as speech or phonemic hearing. The early introduction of a child to musical culture plays a huge role here.

Definite emotional mood people can create various noises. For example, the sound of the sea, rain, howling wind or rustling leaves. Noises can serve as a signal of danger, such as the hiss of a snake, the noise of an approaching car, or the menacing barking of a dog, or they can signal joy, such as the thunder of fireworks or the footsteps of a loved one. School practice often talks about the negative impact of noise - it tires nervous system schoolboy.

Skin sensations

Tactile sensation is the sensation of touch and temperature, that is, the feeling of cold or warmth. Each type of nerve endings located on the surface of our skin allows us to feel the temperature of the environment or touch. Of course, the sensitivity of different areas of the skin varies. For example, the chest, lower back and abdomen are more susceptible to the feeling of cold, and the tip of the tongue and fingertips are most susceptible to touch; the back is least susceptible.

Temperature sensations have a very pronounced emotional tone. Thus, a positive feeling is accompanied by average temperatures, despite the fact that the emotional colors of heat and cold differ significantly. Warmth is regarded as a relaxing feeling, while cold, on the contrary, is invigorating.

Olfactory sensations

Olfaction is the ability to sense smells. In the depths of the nasal cavity there are special sensitive cells that help recognize odors. Olfactory sensations play a relatively small role in modern humans. However, for those who are deprived of any sense organ, the rest work more intensely. For example, deaf-blind people are able to recognize people and places by smell and receive signals of danger using their sense of smell.

The sense of smell can also signal to a person that danger is nearby. For example, if there is a smell of burning or gas in the air. A person’s emotional sphere is greatly influenced by the smells of the objects around him. By the way, the existence of the perfume industry is entirely determined by the aesthetic need of a person for pleasant smells.

The senses of taste and smell are closely related to each other, since the sense of smell helps determine the quality of food, and if a person has a runny nose, then all the dishes offered will seem tasteless to him.

Taste sensations

They arise due to irritation of the taste organs. These are the taste buds, which are located on the surface of the pharynx, palate and tongue. There are four main types of taste sensations: bitter, salty, sweet and sour. A series of shades that arise within these four sensations gives the taste originality to each dish.

The edges of the tongue are sensitive to sour, its tip to sweet, and its base to bitter.

It should be noted that taste sensations are significantly influenced by the feeling of hunger. If a person is hungry, then tasteless food seems much more pleasant.

Internal sensations

This group of sensations lets a person know what changes are occurring in his own body. Interoceptive sensation is an example of an internal sensation. It tells us that we experience hunger, thirst, pain, etc. In addition, there are also motor, tactile sensations and a sense of balance. Of course, interoceptive sensation is an extremely important ability for survival. Without these sensations, we would know nothing about our own body.

Motor sensations

They determine that a person feels the movement and position in space of parts of his body. With the help of the motor analyzer, a person has the ability to feel the position of his body and coordinate its movements. Receptors of motor sensations are located in the tendons and muscles of a person, as well as in the fingers, lips, and tongue, because these organs need to make subtle and precise working and speech movements.

Organic sensations

This type of sensation tells us how the body works. Inside organs, such as the esophagus, intestines and many others, there are corresponding receptors. While a person is healthy and well-fed, he does not feel any organic or interoceptive sensations. But when something is disrupted in the body, they manifest themselves in full. For example, abdominal pain appears if a person has eaten something that is not very fresh.

Tactile sensations

This type of feeling is caused by the fusion of two sensations - motor and skin. That is, tactile sensations appear when you feel an object with a moving hand.

Equilibrium

This sensation reflects the position that our body occupies in space. In the labyrinth of the inner ear, which is also called the vestibular apparatus, when the body position changes, lymph (a special fluid) oscillates.

The organ of balance is closely related to the work of other internal organs. For example, with strong stimulation of the balance organ, a person may experience nausea or vomiting. This is otherwise called air sickness or seasickness. The stability of the balance organs increases with regular training.

Painful sensations

The feeling of pain has a protective value, as it signals that something is wrong in the body. Without this type of sensation, a person would not even feel serious injuries. The anomaly is considered complete insensitivity to pain. It does not bring anything good to a person, for example, he does not notice that he is cutting his finger or putting his hand on a hot iron. Of course, this leads to permanent injuries.

Sensation is a reflection of specific, individual properties, qualities, aspects of objects and phenomena of material reality affecting the senses at a given moment.
The physiological basis of sensations is the complex activity of the sense organs.
An anatomical and physiological apparatus specialized for receiving the effects of certain stimuli from the external and internal environment and processing them into sensations is called an analyzer. Each analyzer consists of three parts:

1. Receptor is a sensory organ that converts the energy of external influence into nerve signals. Each receptor is adapted to receive only certain types of influence (light, sound), i.e. has a specific excitability to certain physical and chemical agents.
2. Nerve pathways - along them nerve signals are transmitted to the brain.
3. Brain center in the cerebral cortex.

Sensations are objective, since they always reflect an external stimulus, and on the other hand, they are subjective, since they depend on the state of the nervous system and individual characteristics.

The English physiologist I. Sherrington identified three main classes of sensations:
1. Exteroceptive sensations reflect the properties of objects and phenomena in the external environment (“five senses”). These include visual, auditory, taste, temperature and tactile sensations. Receptors are located on the surface of the body.
2. Interoreceptive sensations reflect the state of the internal organs. These include sensations of pain, hunger, thirst, nausea, suffocation, etc. Painful sensations signal damage and irritation of human organs and are a unique manifestation of the body’s protective functions.
3. Proprioceptive sensations (muscular-motor). These are sensations that reflect the position and movements of our body. With the help of muscle-motor sensations, a person receives information about the position of the body in space, the relative position of all its parts, the movement of the body and its parts, the contraction, stretching and relaxation of muscles, the condition of joints and ligaments, etc.
Group I - distant sensations:
1. Vision - electromagnetic vibrations, reflection of light from objects.
2. Hearing - sound vibrations.
3. Smell - odorous particles, chemical analysis.
Group II - contact sensations:
4. Tactile - sensations of touch and pressure. Even a slight decrease in tactile sensitivity negatively affects the psyche. Most sensitive:
a) tongue
b) lips,
c) fingertips.
5. Temperature - separate receptors for cold and heat. Body temperature is taken as 0.
6. Taste - receptors in the papillae of the tongue that respond to the chemical composition of food.
7. Vibration sensitivity - reaction to low-frequency environmental vibrations. The most ancient sensitivity. The progenitor of hearing and tactile sensations. There are no special receptors; all body tissues are involved in transmitting information.
8. Pain sensitivity - serves the instinct of self-preservation. People without pain sensitivity do not live to be 10 years old.
Group III - sensations related to the body itself:
Sensations about events inside the body.
9. Vestibular - determine how the body is positioned in relation to gravity. Needed to understand where is up and where is down. Receptors in the inner ear.
10. Muscular – kinesthetic, dynamic, musculoskeletal, proprioception. Special sensors in all muscles, tendon attachments and joints. React to tension and relaxation. Thanks to them, we can tell what our body is doing with our eyes closed. All types of skeletal movements are regulated by the psyche with the participation of muscle sensations.
11. Introceptive sensations - interoreception - the combined result of the work of several types of sensors inside the body (chemoreceptors - chemical events inside the body, baroreceptors - react to changes in pressure, pain, etc.). Often they do not reach the psyche, the realization. Controlled by subcortical structures. What comes to consciousness (Sechenov): “the dark gross feeling of the body” is poorly understood, undifferentiated. Events within the body influence types of sensory sensitivities externally.

Properties of sensations:
1. Adaptation is the adaptation of sensitivity to constantly acting stimuli.
2. Contrast - a change in the intensity and quality of sensations under the influence of a previous or accompanying stimulus.
3. Sensitization - increased sensitivity under the influence of the interaction of sensations and exercises.
4. Synesthesia manifests itself in the fact that sensations of one modality can be accompanied by sensations of another modality.
Not every stimulus that affects the receptor endings of one or another analyzer is capable of causing a sensation. To do this, it is necessary that the stimulus has a certain magnitude or strength.
The lower absolute threshold of sensation is the minimum magnitude, or strength, of a stimulus at which it is capable of causing nervous excitation in the analyzer sufficient for the occurrence of sensation.
The absolute sensitivity of one or another sense organ is characterized by the value of the lower threshold of sensation. The lower the value of this threshold, the higher the sensitivity of this analyzer. Most analyzers have very high sensitivity. For example, the absolute lower threshold of auditory sensation, measured in units of pressure of air sound waves on the eardrum, is on average 0.001 boron in humans. How great this sensitivity is can be judged by the fact that one boron is equal to one millionth of normal atmospheric pressure. The sensitivity of the visual analyzer is even higher. The absolute lower threshold for the sensation of light is 2.5-10" erg/sec. With such sensitivity, the human eye can detect light at a distance of one kilometer, the intensity of which is only a few thousandths of a normal candle.
The upper absolute threshold of sensation corresponds to the maximum value of the stimulus, above which this stimulus ceases to be felt. Thus, the absolute upper threshold of audibility of tones in humans is on average 20,000 vibrations of sound waves per second.

English sensation) - ^psychophysical process of direct sensory reflection (cognition) of individual properties of phenomena and objects of the objective world, i.e. the process of reflection of the direct impact of stimuli on the sense organs, irritation of the latter (see Analyzer), as well as 2) arising as a result of this process subjective (mental) experience of strength, quality, localization and other characteristics of the impact on the sense organs (receptors).

Initially, the doctrine of philosophy arose and developed in philosophy as part of the theory of knowledge. According to the established tradition, in philosophy the term O. is interpreted broadly, covering all phenomena of sensory reflection (see Sensory reflection), including perception and memory representations. Already in the 5th century. BC e. Heraclitus and Protagoras considered philosophy as a source of human knowledge. In the 18th century O. becomes the central topic of discussions among representatives of empirical psychology and philosophy. The mechanistic understanding of thoughts as the elementary “building blocks” of the psyche has become particularly widespread in associative psychology. Thus, W. Wundt distinguished between perception and perception, while perception was understood as a complex of associatively related perceptions.

In the works of domestic psychologists (for example, A. N. Leontiev), the idea of ​​the active, effective nature of the processes of reflecting even individual properties of objects was established. During these processes, the dynamics of the movement of the sense organs are “likened” to the properties of perceived objects (see Perceptual actions), and it is quite obvious that such an active “likening” is at the same time a reconstruction, restoration, and not a passive copying. Of great importance for overcoming naive-associative views on O. were the works of representatives of Gestalt psychology, who rightly rejected the existence of isolated O., from which perception is built as a result of association. It was clearly shown that the same stimulus does not always generate the same O., on the contrary, it can be felt very differently depending on the whole in which it appears. Currently, the problems of vision are being intensively developed in the psychophysics of sensory processes and various branches of psychology.

The diversity of the environment reflects the qualitative diversity of the surrounding world. O.'s classification may have different bases. 1. The division of visual perception by modality is widespread, in connection with which visual, auditory, tactile, and other visual sensors are distinguished. Within individual modalities, a more detailed classification into qualities or submodalities is possible, for example, spatial and color visual visual signals. Known difficulties for such a classification represents the existence of intermodal O., or synesthesia. 2. English physiologist Ch. Sherrington (1906) proposed a classification of oxygen based on the anatomical position of the receptors and their function. He identified 3 main classes of oxygen: 1) exteroceptive, arising from the influence of external stimuli on receptors that are located on the surface of the body; 2) proprioceptive, reflecting the movement and relative position of body parts due to the work of receptors located in muscles, tendons and joint capsules (see Proprioceptors); 3) interoceptive (organic), signaling with the help of special receptors about the occurrence of metabolic processes in the internal environment of the body (see Interoceptors, Organic sensations). In turn, exteroceptive perceptions are divided into distant (visual, auditory) and contact (tactile, gustatory). Olfactory perceptions occupy an intermediate position between these subclasses of exteroception. This classification does not take into account the known independence of O.’s function from the morphological localization of receptors. In particular, visual images can have an important kinesthetic function (N.A. Bernstein, J. Gibson). 3. An attempt to create a genetic classification of O. was made by the English. neurologist X. Head (1918), who identified the more ancient protopathic sensitivity and the younger epicritic.

O. arises in phylogenesis on the basis of elementary irritability as sensitivity to stimuli that do not have direct environmental significance (neutral stimuli), thereby reflecting the objective connection between biotic and abiotic environmental factors. In contrast to the activities of animals, the activities of humans are mediated by his practical activities and the entire process of historical development of society. Numerous data on the possibility of broad restructuring of sensitivity under the influence of objective labor activity speak in favor of the historical understanding of philosophy as “a product of the development of all world history” (K. Marx). As a source of human knowledge about the world around us, oxygen enters into the integral process of cognition, forming the sensory fabric of human consciousness. A variety of psychosensory disorders should be distinguished from true O. See also Duration of sensation, Intensity of sensation.

FEELING

constructing images of individual properties of objects in the surrounding world in the process of direct interaction with them. The classifications of sensations use different bases. According to modality, visual, gustatory, auditory, tactile and other sensations are distinguished. Based on the neurophysiological substrate, exteroceptive, proprioceptive and interoreceptive sensations are distinguished. Based on genetic basis (G. Head, 1918), more ancient protopathic and younger epicritic sensitivity are distinguished.

FEELING

Sensation; Empfmdung) is a psychological function that comprehends immediate reality with the help of the senses.

“By sensation I understand what the French psychologists call “la fonction du reel” (the function of reality), which constitutes the totality of my awareness of external facts received by me through the function of my senses. Sensation tells me that something is, it is not tells me what it is, but only testifies that this something is present” (AP, p. 18).

“Sensation should be strictly distinguished from feeling, because feeling is a completely different process, which can, for example, join sensation as a “sensory coloring”, “sensory tone”. Sensation refers not only to external physical stimulation, but also to internal, that is, to changes in internal organic processes" (PT, par. 775).

“Therefore, sensation is, first of all, sensory perception, i.e., perception accomplished through sensory organs and “bodily sense” (kinesthetic, vasomotor sensations, etc.). Sensation is, on the one hand, an element of representation, because it conveys representation is a perceptual image of an external object, on the other hand, an element of feeling, because through the perception of a bodily change it gives the feeling the character of affect. By transmitting bodily changes to consciousness, sensation is also a representative of physiological drives. However, it is not identical with them, because it is purely perceptual function" (ibid., par. 776).

"One should understand the difference between sensual (sensual) or concrete sensation and abstract sensation<...>The fact is that a specific sensation never appears in a “pure” form, but is always mixed with ideas, feelings and thoughts. On the contrary, abstract sensation is a differentiated mode of perception, which could be called "aesthetic" insofar as it, following its own principle, separates itself both from all admixture of differences inherent in the perceived object, and from all subjective admixture of feeling and thought, since he is thereby elevated to a degree of purity never accessible to concrete sensation. For example, the specific sensation of a flower conveys not only the perception of the flower itself, but also its stem, leaves, the place where it grows, etc. Moreover, it is immediately confused with feelings of pleasure or displeasure caused by the sight of a flower, or with olfactory perceptions evoked at the same time, or with thoughts, for example, about its botanical classification. On the contrary, abstract sensation immediately singles out some conspicuous sensory attribute of a flower, for example its bright red color, and makes it the sole or main content of consciousness, apart from all the above-mentioned impurities" (ibid., par. 777).

“Sensation, since it is an elementary phenomenon, is something unconditionally given, not subject to rational laws, as opposed to thinking or feeling. Therefore, I call it an irrational function, although the mind manages to introduce a large number of sensations into rational connections. Normal sensations are proportional, i.e. that is, when assessed, they correspond, to one degree or another, to the intensity of physical stimulation. Pathological sensations are not proportional, that is, they are either abnormally reduced or abnormally elevated; in the first case they are delayed, in the second they are exaggerated. Detention occurs from the predominance of another function over sensation - exaggeration from an abnormal merger with another function, for example, from the fusion of sensation with the still undifferentiated function of feeling or thought (PT, par. 779).

FEELING

sensation) Elementary particles of experience from which PERCEPTIONS and ideas are formed, i.e. light, sound, olfactory, tactile, taste, pain, heat, cold. The sensations depend on the organ being stimulated, and not on the object stimulating it.

FEELING

The first stage of human cognitive activity. O. is a reflection of the properties of objects in the objective world, both the external environment and one’s own organism. They arise as a result of the influence of objects in the external world on the senses. O. represent the process of sensory-figurative reflection of objects and phenomena in the unity of their properties. The process of perception is formed on the basis of sensations. Sensations are distinguished by modality (visual, auditory, etc.). Three main classes of O.: exteroceptive (distant and contact); proprioceptive or kinesthetic; interoceptive or organic. In the genetic aspect, H. Head shared the more ancient protopathic and younger epicritic sensitivity.

Feeling

According to my understanding, it is one of the main psychological functions (see). Wundt [For the history of the concept of sensation, see /78- Bd.I. S.350; 117; 118; 119/] also considers sensation one of the elementary mental phenomena. Sensation or the process of sensation is that psychological function that, through mediation, transmits physical irritation to perception. Therefore, sensation is identical with perception. Sensation should be strictly distinguished from feeling, because feeling is a completely different process, which can, for example, join sensation as a “sensory coloring”, “sensory tone”. Sensation refers not only to external physical irritation, but also to internal, that is, to changes in internal organic processes.

Therefore, sensation is, first of all, sensory perception, that is, perception accomplished through sensory organs and “bodily sense” (kinesthetic, vasomotor sensations, etc.). Sensation is, on the one hand, an element of representation, because it conveys to the representation a perceptual image of an external object, on the other hand, it is an element of feeling, because through the perception of a bodily change it gives the feeling the character of affect (see). By transmitting bodily changes to consciousness, sensation is also a representative of physiological drives. However, it is not identical with them, because it is a purely perceptual function.

One should distinguish between sensual (sensual) or concrete (q.v.) sensation and abstract sensation (q.v.). The first includes the forms discussed above. The latter designates an abstract type of sensation, that is, isolated from other psychological elements. The fact is that a specific sensation never appears in a “pure” form, but is always mixed with ideas, feelings and thoughts. On the contrary, abstract sensation is a differentiated kind of perception, which could be called "aesthetic" insofar as it, following its own principle, separates itself both from all admixture of differences inherent in the perceived object, and from all subjective admixture of feeling and thought, and because he is thereby elevated to a degree of purity never accessible to concrete sensation. For example, the specific sensation of a flower conveys not only the perception of the flower itself, but also its stem, leaves, the place where it grows, etc. Moreover, it is immediately confused with feelings of pleasure or displeasure caused by the sight of the flower, or with those caused by at the same time with olfactory perceptions, or with thoughts, for example, about its botanical classification. On the contrary, abstract sensation immediately singles out some conspicuous sensory attribute of a flower, for example its bright red color, and makes it the sole or main content of consciousness, apart from all the above-mentioned impurities. Abstract sensation is inherent mainly in the artist. It, like any abstraction, is a product of functional differentiation, and therefore there is nothing original in it. The initial form of functions is always concrete, that is, mixed (see archaism and concretism). A concrete sensation, as such, is a reactive phenomenon. On the contrary, abstract sensation, like any abstraction, is never free from will, that is, from the directing element. The will aimed at the abstraction of sensation is an expression and confirmation of the aesthetic attitude of sensation.

Sensation is especially characteristic of the nature of the child and primitive man, since it, in any case, dominates thinking and feeling, but not necessarily over intuition (see). For I understand sensation as conscious perception, and intuition as unconscious sensation. Sensation and intuition seem to me to be a pair of opposites or two functions that mutually compensate each other, like thinking and feeling. The functions of thinking and feeling develop as independent functions from sensation, both ontogenetically and phylogenetically. (Of course, also from intuition, as it necessarily complements the opposite of sensation.) An individual whose attitude as a whole is oriented by sensation belongs to the sensing (sensitive) type (see)

Sensation, since it is an elementary phenomenon, is something unconditionally given, not subject to rational laws, as opposed to thinking or feeling. Therefore, I call it an irrational function (see), although reason manages to introduce a large number of sensations into rational connections. Normal sensations are proportional, that is, when assessed, they correspond - to varying degrees - to the intensity of physical stimulation. Pathological sensations are disproportionate, that is, they are either abnormally reduced or abnormally elevated; in the first case they are delayed, in the second they are exaggerated. Retention arises from the predominance of another function over sensation; exaggeration comes from an abnormal merger with another function, for example, from the fusion of sensation with a still undifferentiated function of feeling or thought. But in this case, the exaggeration of the sensation stops as soon as the function merged with the sensation differentiates itself. Particularly clear examples are provided by the psychology of neuroses, where very often a significant sexualization of other functions is found (Freud), that is, the fusion of sexual sensations with other functions.

FEELING

constructing images of individual properties of objects in the external world in the process of direct interaction with them. From the standpoint of materialism, according to the theory of reflection, sensations are truly a direct connection between consciousness and the outside world, the transformation of the energy of external stimuli into facts of consciousness - into information. They provide a direct connection between consciousness and the external environment, reflecting the properties of objects in the objective world. Reflection in sensation is the result of not just the impact of an object on a living being, but the result of their interaction - the interaction of processes that meet each other halfway and give rise to an act of cognition; the result of the interaction of the organism with the physical and chemical properties of the environment when they directly affect the receptors.

In the act of sensation through the senses, a connection with the environment is established. It is in it that the transition of the energy of the external world into an act of consciousness takes place. Images of sensations perform regulatory, cognitive and emotional functions. Sensations and the preservation of their traces are the natural basis of the psyche in phylogenesis and ontogenesis.

The central pattern of sensations is the existence of a perception threshold.

Within the framework of the reflex concept of I.M. Sechenov and I.P. Pavlov conducted studies that showed that according to physiological mechanisms, sensation is an integral reflex that unites the peripheral and central parts of the analyzer through direct and reverse connections.

The problems of sensations are being intensively developed in the psychophysics of sensory processes and various branches of physiology. The variety of sensations reflects the qualitative diversity of the world.

Classification of sensations can be carried out on different grounds. They, like perceptions, can be classified by modality, highlighting visual, gustatory, auditory, tactile sensations, etc. Within individual modalities, a more detailed classification is possible - for example, spatial and color visual sensations. Intermodal sensations, or synesthesia, present known difficulties for such a classification.

You can divide sensations into contact and distant.

One of the classifications identifies three main classes of sensations:

1) exteroceptive sensations that arise when external stimuli act on receptors located on the surface of the body; they, in turn, are divided into two subclasses: a) distant - visual, auditory; b) contact - tactile, gustatory; olfactory sensations occupy an intermediate position between these subclasses.

2) proprioceptive (kinesthetic) sensations, reflecting the movement and relative position of body parts (due to the work of receptors located in muscles, tendons and joint capsules);

3) interoceptive (organic) sensations, signaling with the help of specialized receptors about the occurrence of metabolic processes in the internal environment of the body.

But this classification does not take into account the known independence of the function of sensations from the morphological localization of receptors. Thus, visual sensations can perform an important proprioceptive function.

There are known attempts to create a genetic classification of sensations (G. Head, 1918). Thus, the more ancient - eryopathic and younger - epicritic sensitivity are distinguished. Protopathic sensations, unlike epicritic ones, do not provide an exact localization of the source of irritation either in external space or in the space of the body, are characterized by a constant affective coloring and reflect subjective states rather than objective processes.

According to the concepts developed in Russian psychology, sensation arises in phylogenesis on the basis of elementary irritability - as sensitivity to stimuli that do not have direct environmental significance, reflecting the connection between biotic and abiotic environmental factors.

Unlike the sensations of animals, human sensations are mediated by his practical activities and the entire process of historical development of society. From the standpoint of materialism, in favor of understanding sensation as a product of the development of the entire world history, there are numerous data on the possibility of wide restructuring of sensitivity under the influence of objective work activity, as well as on the dependence of the perception of individual properties of objects on socially developed systems of sensory qualities (such as the system of phonemes of the native language, scales musical or color tones).

sensation) - feeling: the result of processing in the brain information about the objects surrounding a person, which enters it in the form of messages (signals) from receptors. Messages coming from exteroceptors are interpreted by the brain in the form of specific sensations - visual and auditory images, smell, taste, temperature, pain, etc. Messages coming from interoceptors usually very rarely reach consciousness and cause any sensations to arise in a person.

Feeling

Kinds. The classifications of sensations use different bases. According to modality, visual, gustatory, auditory, tactile and other sensations are distinguished. Based on the neurophysiological substrate, exteroceptive, proprioceptive and interoreceptive sensations are distinguished. On the basis of genetics, G. Head (1918) identified the more ancient protopathic and younger epicritic sensitivity.

FEELING

1. Any unprocessed, elementary experience of feeling or awareness of some conditions inside or outside the body, caused by the stimulation of some receptor or system of receptors, sensory data. This definition represents a kind of operational principle for a number of theories of sensory experience and is what is presented in most introductory textbooks, where sensation is usually distinguished from perception, the latter being characterized as resulting from the interpretation and detailed elaboration of sensations. However, many psychologists dispute the very idea that one can have any sensation at all without elaborating, interpreting, labeling, or recognizing what it is. 2. In Titchener’s structuralism, it is one of the three basic elements of consciousness (along with feelings and images). 3. The process of sensation. 4. The name of the field of psychology that studies these basic processes of sensory experience. The main focus here is on the study of physiological and psychophysical principles.

5.1. PHYSIOLOGICAL BASES OF SENSATIONS

Feeling- the simplest mental process, consisting of reflecting individual properties of objects and phenomena during their direct impact on the corresponding receptors.

Receptors- these are sensitive nerve formations that perceive the influence of the external or internal environment and encode it in the form of a set of electrical signals. The latter then enter the brain, which deciphers them. This process is accompanied by the emergence of the simplest mental phenomena - sensations. The psychophysics of sensations is shown in Fig. 5.1.

Rice. 5.1. Psychophysical mechanism of sensation formation

Some human receptors are combined into more complex formations - sense organs.

A person has an organ of vision - the eye, an organ of hearing - the ear, an organ of balance - the vestibular apparatus, an organ of smell - the nose, an organ of taste - the tongue. At the same time, some receptors are not united into one organ, but are scattered over the surface of the entire body. These are receptors for temperature, pain and tactile sensitivity. 2

Tactile sensitivity is provided by touch and pressure receptors.

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A large number of receptors are located inside the body: pressure receptors, chemical senses, etc. For example, receptors sensitive to the content of glucose in the blood provide a feeling of hunger. Receptors and sensory organs are the only channels through which the brain can receive information for subsequent processing.

“We constantly experience new worlds, our body and mind constantly perceive external and internal changes. Our very life depends on how successfully we perceive the world in which we move, and how accurately these sensations guide our movements. We use our senses to avoid threatening stimuli—extreme heat, the sight, sound, or smell of a predator—and strive for comfort and well-being.” 3

Bloom F, Leiserson A, Hofstadter L. Brain, mind, behavior. – M.: Mir, 1998. – P. 138.

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All receptors can be divided into distant, which can perceive irritation at a distance (visual, auditory, olfactory), and contact(taste, tactile, pain), which can perceive irritation upon direct contact with them.

The density of information flow entering through receptors has its optimal limits. When this flow intensifies, a information overload(for example, air traffic controllers, stock brokers, managers of large enterprises), and when it decreases - sensory isolation(for example, submariners and astronauts).

^ 5.2. ANALYZER – THE MATERIAL BASIS OF SENSATIONS

Sensations are the product of activity analyzers person. An analyzer is an interconnected complex of nerve formations that receives signals, transforms them, configures the receptor apparatus, transmits information to nerve centers, processes it and deciphers it. I. P. Pavlov believed that the analyzer consists of three elements: sensory organ conducting pathways And cortical section. According to modern concepts, the analyzer includes at least five departments:

1) receptor;

2) conductive;

3) setting block;

4) filtration unit;

5) analysis block.

Since the conductor section is essentially just an “electrical cable” that conducts electrical impulses, the most important role is played by the four sections of the analyzer (Fig. 5.2). The feedback system allows you to make adjustments to the operation of the receptor section when external conditions change (for example, fine-tuning the analyzer with different impact forces).

Rice. 5.2. Analyzer structure diagram

If we take the human visual analyzer as an example, through which most of the information is received, then these five sections are represented by specific nerve centers (Table 5.1).

Table 5.1. Structural and functional characteristics of the constituent elements of the visual analyzer

In addition to the visual analyzer, with the help of which a person receives a significant amount of information about the world around him, other analyzers that perceive chemical, mechanical, temperature and other changes in the external and internal environment are also important for compiling a holistic picture of the world (Fig. 5.3).

Rice. 5.3. Basic human analyzers

In this case, contact and distant effects are analyzed by various analyzers. Thus, in humans there are a distant chemical analyzer (olfactory) and a contact analyzer (taste), a distant mechanical analyzer (auditory) and a contact (tactile) analyzer.

^ 5.2.1. Diagram of the structure of the auditory analyzer

The human auditory analyzer is located deep in the temporal bone and actually includes two analyzers: auditory and vestibular. Both of them work on the same principle (they record fluid vibrations in the membranous canals using sensitive hair cells), but they allow one to obtain different types of information.

One is about air vibrations, and the second is about the movement of one’s own body in space (Fig. 5.4).

Rice. 5.4. Diagram of the structure of the inner ear - the main section of the receptor part of the auditory analyzer

The work of the auditory analyzer itself is a good illustration of the phenomenon of the transition of physical phenomena to mental ones through the stage of physiological processes (Fig. 5.5).

Rice. 5.5. Scheme of the occurrence of auditory sensations

At the input of the auditory analyzer we have a purely physical fact - air vibrations of a certain frequency, then in the cells of the organ of Corti we can register a physiological process (the emergence of a receptor potential and the formation of an action potential), and finally, at the level of the temporal cortex, mental phenomena such as sound occur Feel.

^ 5.3. THRESHOLDS OF SENSATIONS

In psychology, there are several concepts of sensitivity threshold (Fig. 5.6).

Rice. 5.6. Thresholds of sensations

Lower absolute sensitivity threshold defined as the lowest strength of stimulus that can cause sensation.

Human receptors are distinguished by very high sensitivity to an adequate stimulus. For example, the lower visual threshold is only 2–4 quanta of light, and the olfactory threshold is equal to 6 molecules of an odorous substance.

Stimuli with a strength less than the threshold do not cause sensations. They're called subliminal and are not realized, but can penetrate the subconscious, determining human behavior, as well as forming the basis for it dreams, intuition, unconscious attractions. Research by psychologists shows that the human subconscious can react to very weak or very short stimuli that are not perceived by consciousness.

^ Upper absolute sensitivity threshold changes the very nature of the sensations (most often to pain). For example, with a gradual increase in water temperature, a person begins to perceive not heat, but pain. The same thing happens with strong sound or pressure on the skin.

^ Relative threshold (discrimination threshold) is the minimum change in the intensity of the stimulus that causes changes in sensations. According to the Bouguer–Weber law, the relative threshold of sensation is constant when measured as a percentage of the initial value of stimulation.

^ Bouguer–Weber law : “The discrimination threshold for each analyzer has a constant relative value: DI/I= const, where I- the strength of the stimulus."

Weber's constants for different senses are: 2% for the visual analyzer, 10% for the auditory (in intensity) and 20% for the taste analyzer. This means that a person can notice a change in illumination of about 2%, while a change in auditory sensation requires a change in sound intensity of 10%.

The Weber-Fechner law determines how the intensity of sensations changes with changes in the intensity of stimulation. It shows that this dependence is not linear, but logarithmic.

^ Weber–Fechner law: “The intensity of the sensation is proportional to the logarithm of the strength of stimulation: S = K lgI + C, where S is the intensity of sensation; I – stimulus strength; K And C- constants."

^ 5.4. CLASSIFICATION OF SENSATIONS

Depending on the source of stimulation acting on the receptors, sensations are divided into three groups. Each of these groups, in turn, consists of various specific sensations (Fig. 5.7).

1. ^ Exteroceptive sensations reflect the properties of objects and phenomena of the external environment (“five senses”). These include visual, auditory, taste, temperature and tactile sensations. In fact, there are more than five receptors that provide these sensations, 4

Touch, pressure, cold, heat, pain, sound, smell, taste (sweet, salty, bitter and sour), black and white and color, linear and rotational movement, etc.

[Close] and the so-called “sixth sense” has nothing to do with it.

Rice. 5.7. Varieties of human sensations

For example, visual sensations arise when excited chopsticks(“twilight, black and white vision”) and cones(“daytime, color vision”).

Temperature sensations in humans occur during separate excitation cold and heat receptors. Tactile sensations reflect the impact on the surface of the body, and they arise when excited or sensitive touch receptors in the upper layer of the skin, or with stronger exposure to pressure receptors in the deep layers of the skin.

2. Interoreceptive sensations reflect the state of the internal organs. These include sensations of pain, hunger, thirst, nausea, suffocation, etc. Painful sensations signal damage and irritation of human organs and are a unique manifestation of the body’s protective functions. The intensity of pain varies, reaching great strength in some cases, which can even lead to a state of shock.

^ 3. Proprioceptive sensations (muscular-motor). These are sensations that reflect the position and movements of our body. With the help of muscular-motor sensations, a person receives information about the position of the body in space, the relative position of all its parts, the movement of the body and its parts, the contraction, stretching and relaxation of muscles, the condition of joints and ligaments, etc. Muscular-motor sensations are complex. Simultaneous stimulation of receptors of different quality gives sensations of a unique quality:

♦ irritation of receptor endings in muscles creates a feeling of muscle tone when performing a movement;

♦ sensations of muscle tension and effort are associated with irritation of the nerve endings of the tendons;

♦ irritation of the receptors of the articular surfaces gives a sense of direction, shape and speed of movements.

^ 5.5. PROPERTIES OF SENSATIONS

Sensations have certain properties:

♦ adaptation;

♦ contrast;

♦ thresholds of sensations;

♦ sensitization;

♦ sequential images.

The manifestations of these properties are described in table. 5.2.

Table 5.2. Properties of sensations

^ CHAPTER 6. PERCEPTION

6.1. GENERAL VIEW OF PERCEPTION

6.1.1. Perception and sensations

If, as a result of sensation, a person gains knowledge about individual properties and qualities of an object (cold, rough, green), then perception gives a holistic image of the object.

To illustrate the fundamental difference between the process of perception and sensation, we can recall the parable of three blind men who were walking around the zoo and, one by one, approached the enclosure with an elephant. When they were later asked what an elephant was, one said that it looked like a thick rope, another that an elephant resembled a burdock leaf: it was flat and rough, and the third said that an elephant resembled a tall and powerful column. Such a variety of descriptions of the same animal consisted in the fact that one blind man took the elephant by the tail, another touched the ear, and the third hugged the leg. Accordingly, they received different sensations, and none of them was able to construct a holistic perception of the object.

Perception– a holistic reflection of objects and phenomena in the totality of their properties and parts with their direct impact on the senses.

Perception is always a set of sensations, and sensation is an integral part of perception. However, perception is not a simple sum of sensations received from a particular object, but a qualitatively and quantitatively new stage of sensory cognition (Fig. 6.1).

^ Physiological basis of perception is the coordinated activity of several analyzers, occurring with the participation of associative parts of the cerebral cortex and speech centers.

In the process of perception, they are formed perceptual images, with which attention, memory and thinking are subsequently operated. An image represents the subjective form of an object; it is a product of the inner world of a given person.

Rice. 6.1. Scheme of formation of mental images during perception

For example, the perception of an apple consists of the visual sensation of a green circle, the tactile sensation of a smooth, hard and cool surface, and the olfactory sensation of the characteristic apple smell.

Added together, these three sensations give us the opportunity to perceive a whole object - an apple.

Perception must be distinguished from ideas, that is, the mental creation of images of objects and phenomena that once influenced the body, but are absent at the moment.

In the process of forming an image, it is influenced attitudes, interests, needs And personal motives. Thus, the image that appears at the sight of the same dog will be different for a random passer-by, an amateur dog breeder and a person who has recently been bitten by a dog. Their perceptions will differ in completeness and emotionality. A huge role in perception is played by a person’s desire to perceive this or that object, the activity of its perception.

^ 6.1.2. Properties of perceptual images

The main properties of perceptual images include objectivity, integrity, constancy.

Objectivity is understood as the reproducibility in the perceptual image of its properties as properties of the object itself (the image of a stone, as it were, reproduces in the human mind its heaviness, hardness, smoothness, etc.).

Property integrity the perceptual image is found in a number of phenomena. For example, when incompleteness, loss or distortion of any details in the image of an object do not interfere with its recognition, or when we group disparate details so that they form a meaningful whole.

Constancy perception is the relative constancy of the properties of perceived objects and situations with a significant change in the conditions of perception in such a way that a change in its background characteristics does not affect the parameters of the attribute of the perceived figure. One of the researchers who analyzed the problem of constancy was G. Helmholtz. From his point of view, the constancy of perception is the result of unconscious inferences. Thus, he explained the facts of the constancy of color perception by the fact that, seeing the same objects under different lighting, we form an idea of ​​​​how this object will look in white light.

When studying the phenomena of perception, it arises the problem of innate and acquired components in perception. Research shows that some aspects of perception are innate (perception of motion and some aspects of spatial perception). The innate ability to perceive space ensures the constancy of perceived objects regardless of their movements in space, changes in lighting and human movements.

At the same time, perception is significantly dependent on feedback and can be modified according to individual experience, learning and social factors (culture, education, etc.). For example, in an experiment with a device simulating a steep cliff, it was shown that the perception of space, in particular “fear of heights,” is not an innate feeling. The babies began to perceive sudden changes in height only a week after they began to crawl. 5

Bloom F., Leiserson A., Hofstadter L. Brain, mind, behavior. – M.: Mir, 1998. – P. 138.

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In other experiments, people were given special glasses to wear that turned images upside down. It turns out that after a few days the brain corrected this defect and flipped the image a second time, so that over time the person began to see the world around him in a normal, not inverted form.

All this shows that human perception is a complex synthesis of innate and acquired psychophysiological mechanisms.

^ 6.2. TYPES OF PERCEPTION

There are three main classifications of perception processes: according to the form of existence of matter, according to the leading modality and according to the degree of volitional control.

According to the first classification, there are three types of perception (Fig. 6.2).

Rice. 6.2. Types of perception according to the form of existence of matter

Perception of space includes a reflection of the distance to objects or between them, their relative position, volume, distance and direction in which they are located. The main features of human perception of space are shown in Table. 6.1.

Table 6.1. Perception of space

In human practice, there are also errors in the perception of space - illusions. Visual illusions are discussed in more detail in section 6.4 of this book. An example of a visual illusion is the overestimation of vertical lines (of two lines of the same size, the vertical one is always visually perceived as larger than the horizontal one - Fig. 6.3).

Rice. 6.3. Wundt's vertical-horizontal illusion

Motion perception– this is a reflection in time of changes in the position of objects or the observer himself in space (Table 6.2).

Table 6.2. Motion perception

At the same time, the brain records a number of movement parameters: direction of movement, its speed, acceleration, shape and amplitude. The human joint-muscular and vestibular analyzer is involved in this type of perception. With the help of the latter, a person determines the magnitude of acceleration and the intensity of rotation or turns. For this purpose, in the temporal bone there is a system of three semicircular canals located in three mutually perpendicular planes, and two sacs (round and oval), which respond to any movement of the head.

^ Perception of time is the least studied area of ​​psychology. So far it is only known that the assessment of the duration of a time period depends on what events (from the point of view of a particular person) it was filled with. If time was filled with many interesting events, then subjectively it passes quickly, and if there were few significant events, then time drags on “slowly”. When remembering, the opposite phenomenon occurs - a period of time filled with interesting things seems to us longer than an “empty” one. The material basis for human perception of time is the so-called “cellular clock” - a fixed duration of some biological processes at the levels of individual cells, by which the body checks the duration of large periods of time. The concept of “perception of time” includes such types of perception as the perception of the duration of phenomena, the perception of the sequence of phenomena, as well as the perception of tempo and rhythm.

The second classification of perception (according to the leading modality) includes visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, tactile perception, as well as the perception of one’s body in space (Fig. 6.4).

In accordance with this classification, in neurolinguistic programming (one of the areas of modern psychology), all people are usually divided into visuals, auditory And kinesthetics. For visual learners, the visual type of perception predominates, for auditory learners – auditory, and for kinesthetic learners – tactile, gustatory and temperature.

According to the degree of volitional control, perceptions are divided into intentional and unintentional (Fig. 6.5).

Rice. 6.4. Types of perception by leading modality

Rice. 6.5. Types of perception according to the degree of volitional control

^ 6.3. PROPERTIES AND LAWS OF PERCEPTION

6.3.1. Properties of perception

Human perceptions differ from sensations in a number of specific properties. The main properties of perception are:

♦ constancy;

♦ integrity;

♦ selectivity;

♦ objectivity;

♦ apperception;

♦ meaningfulness.

The manifestations of these properties are described in table. 6.3.

Table 6.3. Properties of perception

^ 6.3.2. Effects (laws) of perception

The perception of objects and phenomena by a person differs from such registration by technical devices. This is due to the individual characteristics of a particular person, the characteristics of his life experience, as well as the general principles of brain function. These principles have been studied by various scientists who have derived a number of empirical patterns (Table 6.4).

Table 6.4. Patterns of perception (according to M. Wertheimer)

It should be recognized that science cannot yet accurately explain the mechanisms of brain function responsible for these effects, therefore the discovered patterns are phenomenological in nature.

^ 6.4. ILLUSIONS OF PERCEPTION

6.4.1. The variety of illusions

Illusions (perception errors) can occur in any analyzer. For example, the kinesthetic “Aristotle illusion”, first discovered by the great scientist of antiquity, has been known for more than two thousand years. If you strongly cross the middle and index fingers of your right hand, and then touch them to your own nose so that its tip simultaneously touches the pads of these fingers (with your eyes closed), then a distinct illusion of a doubling of the nose will arise.

Illusions are caused by various mechanisms of the visual analyzer or the functioning of the human psyche. Some errors occur at the level of the oculomotor system, others are caused by psychological attitudes, others are associated with difficulties of accommodation on objects of varying distances, others are caused by the individual’s previous experience, etc. In this regard, several types of visual illusions are distinguished (Fig. 6.6). Examples of them will be demonstrated below.

Rice. 6.6. Types of visual illusions

^ 6.4.2. Visual distortions

Parallel lines appear to be located at an angle (Fig. 6.7).

Rice. 6.7. Zollner illusion

Lines BC lie on the same straight line, and not AC, as it seems (Fig. 6.8).

Rice. 6.8. Poggendorff illusion

The square appears distorted (Fig. 6.9).

Rice. 6.9. The Illusion of W. Ehrenstein

^ 6.4.3. Illusions of size perception

Which circle is bigger? The one surrounded by small circles, or the one surrounded by large ones? They are the same (Fig. 6.10).

Rice. 6.10. Ebbinghaus illusion

Which figure is bigger? They are absolutely identical (Fig. 6.11).

Rice. 6.11. Jastrow illusion

^ 6.4.4. Perspective illusion

The parallelepipeds are equal (Fig. 6.12), although the “far” figure seems larger in size, since we are accustomed to the fact that objects should shrink when moving away.

Rice. 6.12. Which parallelepiped is larger?

^ 6.4.5. Irradiation phenomenon

The phenomenon of irradiation is that light objects against a dark background seem larger than their actual size and seem to capture part of the dark background. When we look at a light surface against a dark background, due to the imperfection of the lens, the boundaries of this surface seem to expand, and this surface seems to us larger than its true geometric dimensions. In Fig. 6.13 due to the brightness of the colors, the white square appears larger relative to the black square on a white background.

Rice. 6.13. Which of the inner squares is larger? Black or white?