Sensation and perception play an important role in the learning process. Psychologists believe learning is a coordinated process that commences from the time a student perceives new information from the environment, transfer it into the brain for storage and retrieval process (Myers, & DeWall, 2015). In most of the cases, the learning process is a deliberate activity where an individual using sensual organs including eyes and ears senses new information before deciding to act on the information. Where one is studying for the exams, for instance, one is likely to take notice of bolded words or words in italics when reading. Depending on the mastery of content, the brain will from time to time try to make a connection between the new information and what has been studied before. In this manner, a student can gain the most from a study session as opposed to where one has little grasp of the content being considered.

The extent to which one is likely to remember study materials depends on a lot of matters. Perhaps most importantly, the ability to correctly figure out stimuli from the environment and interpret information in a manner that is in line with the objective of the data gathering process determines the extent to which an individual is likely to benefit from a study session (Myers, & DeWall, 2015). Concerning the sensual process, instructors often require their students to put their focus on class proceedings or their study for a fixed period, 20 to 30 minutes as opposed to lengthy but less objective learning session (Driscoll, & Driscoll, 2005). Lack of objectivity has a high degree of affecting the ability of a student to remember what they have learned from a study session. For this reason, it is critical to ensure during a study session that one remains highly alert to receive new information and act on the data simultaneously if they are to gain optimum results from a study session.

When it comes to memory process, sensation and perception equally play an important role. For the best study results, learners are advised to develop a personal understanding of how best they respond to information. In other words, each one of us should take time to assess themselves on how best they sense, perceive and act on new information. Wheres, the majority of students prefer quietness in their study environment, other sense and grasp new information in a place where there is loud music (Egan, 1975). On the same not, while some people gain the most while studying late in the night, others prefer morning hours when the brain is fresh from a night’s sleep. Concerning this, it is imperative that as students we develop a better understanding of ourselves with regard to the best situations and times that can help us perceive, store and retrieve new information in a more effective way.

From the description of the learning process as experienced on a personal basis and as observed from friends above, some deductions can be made about sensation and perception. The first and the most obvious is the association between sensation and reception of stimuli from the environment. On the other hand, perception deals with the transformation of the detected stimuli in a form that enables us to construct meaningful objects and events. Since learning as an activity is mainly concerned with the ability to recognize new information and derive meaning from the data, it can be concluded that sensation and perception as a psychological process are integral to the learning and study process.

References

Driscoll, M. P., & Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction.

Egan, J. P. (1975). Signal Detection Theory and ROC Analysis Academic Press Series in

Cognition and Perception. London, UK: Academic Press.

Myers, D. G., & DeWall, C. N. (2015). Exploring psychology in modules. Worth Publishers.