I loved this chapter!!
A) It was interesting.
B) It was SHORT!! I was able to keep reading without daydreaming or getting bored with the information!!
I found quite a few aspects of this chapter interesting. One was onion breath being related to sexual arousal. This study and the man's account of onion breath "turning him on" completely baffled me! I wanted to laugh hysterically, but it was really interesting! It relates to so many things in life like, when you're at the store and you smell gingerbread, you automatically think of (are conditioned to associate) Grandma's Christmas cookies. You spontaneously recover that tidbit of forgotton or seemingly extinct information when you sniff that first whiff of ginger.
An example of something I've been conditioned to is red Ford Rangers (a type of pickup truck). I associate these trucks with my father, who drives one. There have been several unfortunate incidents that have occured in/with this truck of his, so whenever I see one while driving, I immediately tense up and expect to see him in the driver's seat (Classical conditioning/ unconditioned response to the truck). This stimulus gets me every time and is extremely annoying, but the same response takes place every time.
This chapter helped me realize why I react the way I do to many things and was extremely informational in how I would like to one day raise my children. I took lots of notes!! :)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Illusions Blog
I picked these 8 illusions for the activity: Adelson's Corrugated Plaid, Stereokinetic phenomenon, Scintillating Grid, Face in Blocks, Rotation changes the Interpretation, The Frankfurter Illusion, Shepard's "Turning the Tables", and Contrast Constancy.
From the tutorials, I was able to realize that there is often a lot more to a picture, image, or even something that seems to be a gob of nothing. The tutorials showed me that my mind percieves sometimes only the things it WANTS to percieve. It also showed me that sometimes my mind is surprised by illusions I wasn't ready to see because they aren't "set," common, or expected.
In some of the tutorials, I tried to figure out what I was supposed to learn before reading the write up on each one. Sometimes I could figure it out, but most times I couldn't. This surprised me. I expected that I would be able to see whatever I was "supposed" to see without reading the write ups, but it wasn't until I read that I saw Abraham Lincoln's "face in blocks!" I was also surprised in the corrugated plaid tutorial when the dots were turning colors as I looked at and away from them. I thought my mind was playing tricks on my or that my eyes were going weird until I read the tutorial and learned that that was the illusion part of it.
I think these tutorials can teach us something about how we percieve the world. Not everything in life is an optical illusion or has to be stared at, but these tutorials demonstrate that there really is more to life than only the things we want or choose to see. In some of the tutorials I almost "ignored" the illusion until what I was supposed to see was spelled out for me! It's the same way in life. It's easy to not percieve things until they're placed right under your nose.
Experiences in which I fail to sense or percieve things happen every day. A perfect example could be not sensing or percieving what someone is trying to get across to me without verbalizing. Someone may be sending oodles of body language messages, and I may fail to notice completely. I think this happens to many of us, and it all deals with whether our mind is in tune to percieve our surroundings.
From the tutorials, I was able to realize that there is often a lot more to a picture, image, or even something that seems to be a gob of nothing. The tutorials showed me that my mind percieves sometimes only the things it WANTS to percieve. It also showed me that sometimes my mind is surprised by illusions I wasn't ready to see because they aren't "set," common, or expected.
In some of the tutorials, I tried to figure out what I was supposed to learn before reading the write up on each one. Sometimes I could figure it out, but most times I couldn't. This surprised me. I expected that I would be able to see whatever I was "supposed" to see without reading the write ups, but it wasn't until I read that I saw Abraham Lincoln's "face in blocks!" I was also surprised in the corrugated plaid tutorial when the dots were turning colors as I looked at and away from them. I thought my mind was playing tricks on my or that my eyes were going weird until I read the tutorial and learned that that was the illusion part of it.
I think these tutorials can teach us something about how we percieve the world. Not everything in life is an optical illusion or has to be stared at, but these tutorials demonstrate that there really is more to life than only the things we want or choose to see. In some of the tutorials I almost "ignored" the illusion until what I was supposed to see was spelled out for me! It's the same way in life. It's easy to not percieve things until they're placed right under your nose.
Experiences in which I fail to sense or percieve things happen every day. A perfect example could be not sensing or percieving what someone is trying to get across to me without verbalizing. Someone may be sending oodles of body language messages, and I may fail to notice completely. I think this happens to many of us, and it all deals with whether our mind is in tune to percieve our surroundings.
Sit Up Straight, Be Confident! - Psyblog
This blog was...odd. I didn't completely understand how the experiment worked, but I did understand it's purpose (which I think is all I need in order to blog about it).
First of all, I feel like I have pretty decent self-confidence. I know i'm a responsible, hard worker, but I do usually slouch. So does that mean I'm negative? I also can think of several people I know who sit up perfectly straight and work hard, but are shy and have no self-esteem or confidence in themselves. So, based off of personal experience, I disagree with the article. I do believe we should sit up straight in order to look like we have a little self-respect.
Finally, when did someone say (and who is the someone who said) that sitting up stright is BAD for your back? I have mild scoleosis and have NEVER been told by a doctor NOT to sit up straight! Anyone know anything about this?
First of all, I feel like I have pretty decent self-confidence. I know i'm a responsible, hard worker, but I do usually slouch. So does that mean I'm negative? I also can think of several people I know who sit up perfectly straight and work hard, but are shy and have no self-esteem or confidence in themselves. So, based off of personal experience, I disagree with the article. I do believe we should sit up straight in order to look like we have a little self-respect.
Finally, when did someone say (and who is the someone who said) that sitting up stright is BAD for your back? I have mild scoleosis and have NEVER been told by a doctor NOT to sit up straight! Anyone know anything about this?
Chapter 6: Sensation and Perception
This chapter interested and confused me. The parts of the text that explained how our individual senses work got lengthy and reminded me of anatomy class, while the parts about ESP and sensual adaptions were really grabbing.
The three main things I learned/found interesting were the basic four skin sensation variations, association of smells, and how perceptual set influences what we hear.
I found it interesting how certain motions create tickles, itching, wetness, dryness, and heat when pressure is put on the right spot. Stroking adjacent pressure spots creates a tickle, repeated gentle stroking of a painful spot creates itching, touching adjacent cold pressure spots triggers a sens of wetness (this can be experienced my touching dry cold metal as well!), and stimulating nearby cold and warm spots produces hot sensations. The variation about touching cold dry metal and thinking you are touching water rings a bell for me. I can remember times when i have even thought my clothing was wet because it was so cold (outside at football games, etc.).
The example used about the smell of wintergreen stimulating thought of candy or gum for Americans and medicine for British was a great perspective. The text explained how our attractedness to smeel depends on what we have rpeviously associated that smell with. I found it interesting that babies are not born with a preference to their mother's smell, but that the preference builds. I ahd previously assumed that, after 9 months in mommy's tummy, a baby would recognize and favor their mother's odor. The text also explained how smells evoke memories, whether pleasant or unpleasant. I remember a time when, after being out of the hospital for 2 months, I smelled someone's hand sanitizer. This hand sanitizer happened to smeel just like the sanitizer the hospital staff used, and I immediately disliked it.
Finally, the chapter talked about perceptual sets. I liked the example given about the pilot who raised the wheels of a plane too early after thinking he had heard his co-pilot say "gear up." really, the pilot had said "cheer up" but the pilot operating the plane was anticipating gear-up and therefore "heard" the phrase. This seems to be extremely common in my life! I feel like I often do something totally opposite of what I'm told to do, just because the words may sound the similar. I'm sure everyone has had some type of similar incident, becuase we all form perceptual sets.
I hope we talk about color constancy, proximity, continuity, similarity, and connectedness in class because I don't feel that I completely understood them. Did everyone else?
The three main things I learned/found interesting were the basic four skin sensation variations, association of smells, and how perceptual set influences what we hear.
I found it interesting how certain motions create tickles, itching, wetness, dryness, and heat when pressure is put on the right spot. Stroking adjacent pressure spots creates a tickle, repeated gentle stroking of a painful spot creates itching, touching adjacent cold pressure spots triggers a sens of wetness (this can be experienced my touching dry cold metal as well!), and stimulating nearby cold and warm spots produces hot sensations. The variation about touching cold dry metal and thinking you are touching water rings a bell for me. I can remember times when i have even thought my clothing was wet because it was so cold (outside at football games, etc.).
The example used about the smell of wintergreen stimulating thought of candy or gum for Americans and medicine for British was a great perspective. The text explained how our attractedness to smeel depends on what we have rpeviously associated that smell with. I found it interesting that babies are not born with a preference to their mother's smell, but that the preference builds. I ahd previously assumed that, after 9 months in mommy's tummy, a baby would recognize and favor their mother's odor. The text also explained how smells evoke memories, whether pleasant or unpleasant. I remember a time when, after being out of the hospital for 2 months, I smelled someone's hand sanitizer. This hand sanitizer happened to smeel just like the sanitizer the hospital staff used, and I immediately disliked it.
Finally, the chapter talked about perceptual sets. I liked the example given about the pilot who raised the wheels of a plane too early after thinking he had heard his co-pilot say "gear up." really, the pilot had said "cheer up" but the pilot operating the plane was anticipating gear-up and therefore "heard" the phrase. This seems to be extremely common in my life! I feel like I often do something totally opposite of what I'm told to do, just because the words may sound the similar. I'm sure everyone has had some type of similar incident, becuase we all form perceptual sets.
I hope we talk about color constancy, proximity, continuity, similarity, and connectedness in class because I don't feel that I completely understood them. Did everyone else?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Persuasion: The Right Ear Advantage-Psyblog
This was an interesting, yet seemingly controversial psyblog. It discussed how when asked a request in our right ear, we (male or female) are more likely to respond. The theory behind this statement was that language heard through the right ear is interpreted in the left side of the brain-the side more preferentially processing language.
I think to some extent this could be true. When I began reading the article, I didn't really buy into what the author was saying because their study didn't seem very supportive (a person went around and asked people for a "smoke" while at a club. More people said yes when asked in their right ear.) When the blog talked about how some people prefer talking into the phone in their right ear (although more people prefer left) I was able to grasp what the author was trying to say. Personally, I CAN'T talk with the phone on my left ear, so this made more sense to me,
The blog was interesting, but I wouldn't recommend taking the time to read it.
I think to some extent this could be true. When I began reading the article, I didn't really buy into what the author was saying because their study didn't seem very supportive (a person went around and asked people for a "smoke" while at a club. More people said yes when asked in their right ear.) When the blog talked about how some people prefer talking into the phone in their right ear (although more people prefer left) I was able to grasp what the author was trying to say. Personally, I CAN'T talk with the phone on my left ear, so this made more sense to me,
The blog was interesting, but I wouldn't recommend taking the time to read it.
Age 25...the new "adult age?"
A part of this week's text that I wasnted to blog about specifically was the fact that "the brain's frontal lobes will continue to develop until about age 25."
The reason I wanted to blog about this individual fact was because I want everyone to think about it for a while. Consider this: If our brain's are not fully developed until age 25, why are we considered adults, and allowed to make adult decisions at 18? If we are not at our stage of complete competency and understanding, why are 18 year olds tried as adults in court? Why is it legal to potentially damage your brain with alcohol after age 21? Is it smart for some high schoolers to make life decisions, such as go to college or work, when their brains have not reached full maturity?
I don't think so.
I think that this issue needs to be considered a bit more. If the driving license age were a bit older (not 25, but not 16) would there be less accidents due to better decision making?
I'd really appreciate some feedback on this blog. I could be completely wrong; I just simply found the whole thing interesting.
The reason I wanted to blog about this individual fact was because I want everyone to think about it for a while. Consider this: If our brain's are not fully developed until age 25, why are we considered adults, and allowed to make adult decisions at 18? If we are not at our stage of complete competency and understanding, why are 18 year olds tried as adults in court? Why is it legal to potentially damage your brain with alcohol after age 21? Is it smart for some high schoolers to make life decisions, such as go to college or work, when their brains have not reached full maturity?
I don't think so.
I think that this issue needs to be considered a bit more. If the driving license age were a bit older (not 25, but not 16) would there be less accidents due to better decision making?
I'd really appreciate some feedback on this blog. I could be completely wrong; I just simply found the whole thing interesting.
Developing Through the Life Span-Chapter 5
Thank goodness we're done with heritability! I enjoyed reading this chapter MUCH more and feel that I was able to take more away from it. Many of the theories discussed were familiar to me, such as Piaget's and Kohlberg's, but it was interesting to read a little more in depth about their studies and research findings.
I agree with Piaget (and most of today's researchers) that chldren actively create and modify their minds and understanding of the world. One of Piaget's main ideas was object permanance. I have always found this concept fascinating, most likely because I cannot remember when it applied to me! Object permanence is the awareness that things continue to exist when they cannot be percieved. It baffles me how infants seem to think that an object has "disappeared" and forget about it immediately!
Another bit of information that I found interesting and agreed with was the fact that people are usually unable to remember early memories. I had heard the whole "no memory before the age of 3" bit before but never really knew if it was completely true. The text confirmed that it is, in fact, true and further explained how the human cerebral cortex is too immature to retain information during infancy and beginning toddlerhood.
Habituation (decreasing responsiveness to repeated stimulation) is a concept that fascinates me! I never would have realized that this is how we learn and retain most information, even after infancey, if the term "habituation" hadn't been given. Although with familiarity comes boredom, intelligence and recognition come as well. This is a genious way of "asking" infants what they can remember (brain stimulation tests).
Finally, Jonathon Haidt's social intuitionist account of morality (moral feelings precede moral resoning) was a theory that really made me think about what I would do in life threatening situations (of others). Would I let 5 die if it meant having to push one person to their death? Or, if i wasn't involved, would I choose to save the 5 at the expense of one life? This is an extremely tough decision and I thought about it for a long time. I continued thinking about this at night as I was going to sleep and actually dreamt about it. In my dream, the 5 people on the train tracks, waiting to die, were my boyfriend and 4 family members. I chose to push a friend onto the tracks to save my 5 loved ones. If this were a real life situtation, I would be haunted forever, yet feel happy to still have my family. It was really an intense section of the chapter that I feel deserves some in class discussion.
I agree with Piaget (and most of today's researchers) that chldren actively create and modify their minds and understanding of the world. One of Piaget's main ideas was object permanance. I have always found this concept fascinating, most likely because I cannot remember when it applied to me! Object permanence is the awareness that things continue to exist when they cannot be percieved. It baffles me how infants seem to think that an object has "disappeared" and forget about it immediately!
Another bit of information that I found interesting and agreed with was the fact that people are usually unable to remember early memories. I had heard the whole "no memory before the age of 3" bit before but never really knew if it was completely true. The text confirmed that it is, in fact, true and further explained how the human cerebral cortex is too immature to retain information during infancy and beginning toddlerhood.
Habituation (decreasing responsiveness to repeated stimulation) is a concept that fascinates me! I never would have realized that this is how we learn and retain most information, even after infancey, if the term "habituation" hadn't been given. Although with familiarity comes boredom, intelligence and recognition come as well. This is a genious way of "asking" infants what they can remember (brain stimulation tests).
Finally, Jonathon Haidt's social intuitionist account of morality (moral feelings precede moral resoning) was a theory that really made me think about what I would do in life threatening situations (of others). Would I let 5 die if it meant having to push one person to their death? Or, if i wasn't involved, would I choose to save the 5 at the expense of one life? This is an extremely tough decision and I thought about it for a long time. I continued thinking about this at night as I was going to sleep and actually dreamt about it. In my dream, the 5 people on the train tracks, waiting to die, were my boyfriend and 4 family members. I chose to push a friend onto the tracks to save my 5 loved ones. If this were a real life situtation, I would be haunted forever, yet feel happy to still have my family. It was really an intense section of the chapter that I feel deserves some in class discussion.
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