Perception

Perception

[per-sep-shuh n]
noun

1.
the act or faculty of perceiving, or apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding.
2.
the result or product of perceiving, as distinguished from the act of perceiving; percept.
3.
a single unified awareness derived from sensory processes while a stimulus is present.

Perception may be categorized as internal or external.

• Internal perception (proprioception) tells us what is going on in our bodies; where our limbs are, whether we are sitting or standing, whether we are depressed, hungry, tired and so forth.
• External or Sensory perception (exteroception), tells us about the world outside our bodies. Using our senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste, we perceive colors, sounds, textures, etc. of the world at large. There is a growing body of knowledge of the mechanics of sensory processes in cognitive psychology.
• Mixed internal and external perception (e.g., emotion and certain moods) tells us about what is going on in our bodies and about the perceived cause of our bodily perceptions.