Final answer:
General senses have receptors that are widespread throughout the body and residing within other organs, providing sensations like touch and proprioception. Special senses have receptors located in specific organs, such as the eyes and ears, and are responsible for perceptions like vision and hearing.
Step-by-step explanation:
The main difference in the localization of sensory receptors for general and special senses in humans lies in their distribution and specificity. General senses, such as touch, temperature, pain, pressure, and vibration, utilize receptors that are distributed widely throughout the body including the skin, muscles, and viscera. These receptors are embedded within the structures of other organs and are not associated with specialized sense organs. In contrast, the special senses—which include vision, hearing, taste, smell, and balance—are associated with specific sensory organs such as the eyes, ears, tongue, and nose, where the sensory receptors are concentrated.
Sensory receptors for general senses are found in many parts of the body, amalgamated with various tissues and organs that contribute to a diverse array of sensations like somatosensation and proprioception. Sensory receptors for special senses, however, have dedicated sense organs adapted to convert specific types of stimuli into neural signals—a process known as sensory transduction—allowing for highly specialized perception such as olfaction and gustation.