Sensory Information

Why Sensory Information is Accurate

Human beings are endowed with the senses of hearing, vision, touch, taste, and smell. Humans perceive the environment through these senses. However, there is a dispute regarding the accuracy of the information perceived through the senses. One of the reasons why I believe that sensory information is accurate is through previous experiences (Wark, Lundstrom, & Fairhall, 2007). Every day, human beings perceive a lot of information through their senses. The accurate interpretation of sensory information in the past informs my interpretation of present experiences. This reinforces my belief in the correctness of that information. For example, when I hear the whistling of a train, I can interpret it even without seeing the train. This is because I have travelled by train on many occasions throughout my life and I have heard the train whistle over and over. Therefore, I believe that I can interpret the sound of a train whistle without any errors because I have experienced similar sounds in numerous times.

I also believe in the accuracy of sensory information because of the knowledge I have acquired from reliable sources (Vroomen & Keetels, 2010). My parents have always warned me to stay away from fire as it can burn and cause the feeling of pain. Therefore, I have ingrained that knowledge in my mind since I was young. Thus, I am aware that a burning flame causes the feeling of pain even without experiencing it. Therefore, if I burn myself, I will interpret what I will feel as pain.

Another reason why I believe that sensory information is accurate is because of my reaction to various perceptions (Goldstein, 2013). For example, when I perceive a bad smell, I feel disgusted and nauseated. I also react by covering my nose with a handkerchief. On the other hand, I do not react in the same manner to good smell. I do not cover my nose and do not feel nauseated. Therefore, I believe that my sense of smell is accurate since I react in a different way to different smells.

Factors Contributing to the Accuracy of Sensory Data

One of the factors that contribute to the accuracy of sensory data is repetition. Repeated interpretation of data in the same way reinforces the accuracy of our senses (Wark et al., 2007). For example, whenever I come across a train, I hear the same sound. Therefore, hearing this sound several times has contributed towards the accuracy of sensory data.

Another factor contributing to the accuracy of sensory information is an individual’s background (Vroomen & Keetels, 2010). For example, I went to visit my uncle and found a tool with a long handle and a flat blade outside the house. I was able to know that it was a hoe and it is used for gardening. This is because my mother used the same tool for gardening in our backyard.

Another factor reinforcing my belief that sensory information is accurate is similar reactions to the same situation (Goldstein, 2013). For example, when everyone touches a hot surface, they react by removing their hands from that surface very fast. I touched a hot cooking pot once and I reacted in the same way. Therefore, observing similar reactions was a factor in enabling me to know that the cooking pot was hot and I had to remove my hand very fast to avoid getting burnt.

References

Goldstein, E. B. (2013). Sensation and perception. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Vroomen, J., & Keetels, M. (2010). Perception of intersensory synchrony: a tutorial review. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 72(4), 871-884.

Wark, B., Lundstrom, B. N., & Fairhall, A. (2007). Sensory adaptation. Current opinion in neurobiology, 17(4), 423-429.