A person learns the surrounding world, first of all, through sensations, the classification of which is the most diverse. So, thanks to them, their influence on the receptors in the body of each person , we learn about the properties of various objects, phenomena of reality, etc.
Classification of sensations in psychology
Scientists from around the world have for many years tried to give the sensations an accurate classification, based on a variety of theories, principles. One of the most correct is the one in which the level approach is applied (founder of the English neurologist G. Head):
- Sensitivity of the protopathic type is considered the earliest in the period of origin and the most primitive. It has a close connection with emotional states and at the same time it has little in common with the thought processes. Those feelings that refer to it, it is considered impossible to describe verbally.
- Epicritic sensitivity is the complete opposite of the previous species. Thanks to it there are categorical names of sensations (for example, yellow, gray, but not "coffee aroma", "perfume fragrance").
It should be noted that classification and characterization of sensations by the degree of specificity of each sense organ is no less popular:
- Spotting occurs as a result of exposure to light. The organ that perceives these sensations is the retina of the shell of the eye.
- Olfactory reflect smells and everything that is associated with them. Thus, odoriferous substances penetrate the nasopharynx, more precisely into its upper part, acting on the olfactory analyzer.
- Auditory perceive sounds as of varying strength (quiet or loud), quality (noise, playing a musical instrument), and heights (high and low).
- Tactile sensations reflect painful effects caused by external factors, temperature and surrounding objects.
- Flavors convey some of the chemical properties of substances that have been dissolved in either saliva or water.
Types and classification of sensations are still in development, because over the past few decades, new principles for their systematization have been created, and at the same time, scientific knowledge of each type of sensory system has expanded.
Classification and properties of sensations
Each sensation has the following properties:
- modality or feature (so, for sensations of the visual form this can be expressed in a color tone);
- localization (concentration, concentration of sensation in a particular area of the body);
- intensity;
- sensory adaptation (fluctuation in the level of manifestation of a particular sensation depending on the effect of a specific stimulus on it).