Why We Study Perception

Perception is the basis for our ability to navigate and interact with the world around us (UMUC, N.d), because of this it is important to understand how perception works within the body and brain. We need to be able to sense and perceive smells, tastes, sights, and sounds in order to survive in the world. For example, when we touch a hot stove the stove is doing damage to our body (burning our hand, killing skin cells, etc). If we did not have the ability to feel the "burning sensation" associated with being burnt by the hot stove, how would we know when damage was being done. Really, we wouldn't know not to touch it. We wouldn't be able to associate the stove with the unpleasant burn, and more importantly, we wouldn't be able to associate the hot stove or burn with other threatening hot surfaces or occurrences. For obvious reasons this poses a huge risk to our livelihood. Instead we have a comprehensive and intricate system of sensory nerves that communicate with the brain, the organ which can then assign meaning to the world around us.

Another example is our ability to sense danger through smell. When we smell smoke, we know there is something wrong. Additionally, when we feel pain in our bodies (stomach aches, organ pain, muscle pain, etc) we know that we need to do something to remedy it. Along the lines of medicine, our ability to sense pain in our bodies allow doctors to diagnose and treat illnesses that might otherwise be life-threatening. As Anthony Greene (N.d) notes, perception is our only means of connection to the world outside our bodies. Without perception to guide us, we would have no knowledge or experience. Furthermore, our sensory systems allow us to identify nourishment and differentiate it from poisonous or distasteful food items (Bear, Connors ,& Paradiso, 2007).

Along similar lines as the previous examples of protection of the self is the fact that sensation and perception aids in maintaining homeostasis. For example, when it is cold outside the body needs to adjust for the temperature change. Just as we wear coats and other warm articles of clothing to deal with cold weather, the sensors in the skin also send signals to the brain to adjust internal body temperature (Chiras, 2005). The body's ability to adjust to different temperatures allows us to live in many different environments from the tropics to the arctic. Similarly, the ability to adjust temperature allows the body to fight foreign invaders (i.e. the function of the fever).

Another reason we study perception is because we need to understand the limitations on the human mind and/or its various abilities (Envision Center: Data Perceptualization at Purdue, 2008). Through the study of perception we're able to learn more about each sense. How does each sense interact with the world? How far can we see and what can't we see? How do we hear and what makes a person go deaf? What are ways in which we can remedy deafness or blindness? Without the study of sensation and perception we wouldn't have the type of surgeries we do that serve to treat sight and hearing.

Furthermore, the study of perception allows us to understand the systems by which we organize our world. The way in which we mentally organize our world also allows us to modify current thoughts, beliefs; allows us to organize new information by creating associations between old and new information. For example, certain pictures represent words; remind us of formulas, names, feelings, etc.

Aside from understanding mental organization, we're also better able to understand how individuals perceive the world. This is because perception affects the way that people come to view themselves, those around them, and the environment around them (UMUC, N.d).

References

Bear, M. F., Connors, B. W., & Paradiso, M. A. (2007). Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain, 3^rd ed. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Williams.

Chiras, D. (2005). Human Biology, 5^th ed. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Inc.

Envision Center: Data Perceptualization at Purdue. (2008). Human Perceptions and VR. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from http://www.envision.purdue.edu/training/Introduction_to_VR_2.pdf

Greene, A. J. (N.d). The Study of Perception: University of Milwaukee Powerpoint Presentation. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:JWliDgQDLXAJ:www.uwm.edu/~ag/teach_pdf/lecturenotes/perception/01%2520The%2520Study%2520of%2520Perception.ppt+study+of+perception&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

UMUC. (N.d). Module One: Introduction to Perception. Retrieved October 12, 2008, from http://tychousa4.umuc.edu/cgi-bin/id/CDI/index.pl?class=0909:PSYC310:7980&module=1&default=M1-Module_1%2FS1-Overview.html