Introduction

Some of the receptors that gather information for us are easy to notice, like the eyes or the ears; others sit deep inside the body and can only be studied with the help of electrical or mechanical instruments. This chapter looks at the many different receptors human beings possess for collecting information from both the outside world and from within their own bodies. It then turns to attention -- the process that helps us notice and register only some of the information our sense organs are constantly gathering, and examines the different types of attention along with the factors that influence them. Finally, the chapter takes up perception, the process through which we make meaningful sense of the world around us. Along the way, it also looks at how certain kinds of stimuli, such as specially constructed figures and pictures, can sometimes deceive our perceptual system altogether.