Perception is our ability to become aware of something. Our minds rely on past experiences to help us perceive what's currently happening.
Word representations
Word representations refer to ideas that we've connected to words. These ideas need to be re-experienced though memory traces to become conscious. Word representations come from things we've seen or heard in the external world at some point in the past. That's why when we think with words, they feel so vivid and real as if they've come from the external world.
Example Memory trace
Internal perceptions
Internal perceptions refer to our thoughts, feelings and sensations.
Feelings need to be perceived (must reach the perceptual system) in order for you to notice them, but unlike thoughts, they don't need to go through memory traces.
Sensations come from a very primitive part of our mind that we're not fully aware of.
Unpleasant sensations cause greater emotions than pleasant sensations.
External perceptions
External perceptions refer to things that we sense from the outside world through our 5 senses.