PSYCH 047: Sensation, Perception, and Cognition

Clinical Deep Dives · Jul 1, 2026 · 1h 1m

This chapter explores how the mind transforms raw sensory input into meaningful experience. Sensation begins as the detection of physical stimuli - light, sound, touch - but perception is the act of organising and interpreting these signals into a coherent reality.

The key insight is that perception is not passive. The brain actively predicts, filters, and shapes incoming information based on prior knowledge, expectations, and context. What we experience as “reality” is therefore a constructed model, not a direct reflection of the external world.

Cognition builds upon this foundation. It…