Hello,
Sensation and perception involves our five senses; vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Sensation refers to the process of sensing our environment, basically bringing information in from the outside world. We do not have to be conscious to engage in this. The information we receive is sent to our brain and then perception comes to play. Our perception is the way we interpret, organize, and select the senses and figure them out.
The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter was that taste doesn't exist just for our pleasure but it attracted our ancestors to energy or protein-rich foods that enabled their survival. Without taste I probably wouldn't be here because my ancestors would not have gotten the appropriate food to survive. There are five survival functions of basic tastes and they include: sweet-energy source, salty-sodium essential to phsyiological processes, sour-potentiall toxic acid, bitter-potential poisons, and umami-proteins to grow and repair tissue. Taste is a chemical sense and each of our 200 or more taste buds on our tongue catches those food chemicals. Our taste receptors reproduce themselves every week or two, so if you burn your tongue you don't have to worry because they'll grow back. When we get older our taste buds lose sensitivity. That explains why adults like stronger tasting foods while children do not.
I read the article "Best Optical Illusions Online". It started with a man and a woman argueing about weither a illusion was real or not. The woman explained that she should not trust her brain because she could get hit by a car that she thinks is driving away from her but is actually coming towards her. He explained that she was taking it to literal and even though everything we see is an illusion it would not occur in our environment. Our brain works hard to combine all the colors, motion, and lines in order to give us the big picture. At the bottom of the article the author states several optical illusion sites to check out.
I thought this article was interesting because it provides a common example between two people. The illusions we can see can fool us but overall it can not naturally occur. It doesn't change anything except that I know my brain works very hard to make me understand things better. I can apply this in my life by explaining to others who have questions or don't know about sensation and perception.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Blog Post #6
I thought that the interviewing assignment was cool. I learned some things about my grandpa that were very interesting. He only had to go to school until the 8th grade. His school was held in a one room classroom. His father died when he was young and his mother was in the hospital. After school he had to stay with several farmers on a room and board basis. He worked from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. everyday. He had to work a lot and hardly got to do anything fun when he was a kid. I'm glad that I am able to go out with friends, play sports, drive a car, and do many other things. I think I have it very easy compared to him especially since he didn't have a very good family life. I would not want to live back then, it probably wasn't bad for him because he didn't realize what he was missing. I enjoy being able to relax, hang with friends, spend time with family, school at times, and all the other activities I do. I learned that the times were really different from 5o years ago to today.
I agree with the "Parenting and Adolescence" video. Everyone goes through puberty and at times life is difficult. Our bodies and brains continue to develop and go through many stages. I know when I was younger I would always have fights with my mom for the smallest things. I realize now that I wanted to become more indepent, but that hurt my parents because their little girl was growing up and they wanted me to stay young forever. Honestly, I don't want to grow up I wish I could stay 17 forever. I think it is the perfect age because I am able to drive and have fun, yet I still have several responsibities. I am enjoying my time as a teenager because we all grow up too quick. I think that my family and friends impact me when becoming an adult the most. I learned from my mistakes, but I have so many more experiences ahead of me.
One thing that I learned from Chapter 4 was how interesting it was that at any age we seek to fit in with groups and are influenced by our peers. Even as preschoolers if a certain food that they don't like is placed on a table with a group of children who like it they will eat it. Teens who start smoking typically do it because they model friends and are offered cigarettes. Parents also influence us but not as much as our peers. Parents are more important when it comes to education, responsibilities, and interacting with others. Peers care about the road to popularity and inventing styles.
One thing I learned from Chapter 5 is stranger anxiety. Stranger anxiety is the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age. Babies tend to cry and reach for familiar faces when strangers greet them. They don't want to be left alone because they feel deserted. Infants prefer certain voices and faces. When they don't recognize a face they become distressed. My parents told me that whenever we went to visit my uncles, I would cry when I saw them and reach for mom or dad. My uncles both had beards and I was not used to that. My dad didn't have a beard so I was always scared of those who did. It's weird how our brains, minds, and environment affect us mentally and physically.
I agree with the "Parenting and Adolescence" video. Everyone goes through puberty and at times life is difficult. Our bodies and brains continue to develop and go through many stages. I know when I was younger I would always have fights with my mom for the smallest things. I realize now that I wanted to become more indepent, but that hurt my parents because their little girl was growing up and they wanted me to stay young forever. Honestly, I don't want to grow up I wish I could stay 17 forever. I think it is the perfect age because I am able to drive and have fun, yet I still have several responsibities. I am enjoying my time as a teenager because we all grow up too quick. I think that my family and friends impact me when becoming an adult the most. I learned from my mistakes, but I have so many more experiences ahead of me.
One thing that I learned from Chapter 4 was how interesting it was that at any age we seek to fit in with groups and are influenced by our peers. Even as preschoolers if a certain food that they don't like is placed on a table with a group of children who like it they will eat it. Teens who start smoking typically do it because they model friends and are offered cigarettes. Parents also influence us but not as much as our peers. Parents are more important when it comes to education, responsibilities, and interacting with others. Peers care about the road to popularity and inventing styles.
One thing I learned from Chapter 5 is stranger anxiety. Stranger anxiety is the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age. Babies tend to cry and reach for familiar faces when strangers greet them. They don't want to be left alone because they feel deserted. Infants prefer certain voices and faces. When they don't recognize a face they become distressed. My parents told me that whenever we went to visit my uncles, I would cry when I saw them and reach for mom or dad. My uncles both had beards and I was not used to that. My dad didn't have a beard so I was always scared of those who did. It's weird how our brains, minds, and environment affect us mentally and physically.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Blog Post #5
Hello,
I learned that obviously mating preferences are different between males and females but I found some interesting things. Males tend to be attracted to women who have waists that are roughly a third narrower than their hips. Which means that is a sign of future fertility. Males also like women who are younger. Women like men who tend to be more mature, dominent, and bold.
I also learned that each cultural groups evolve their own norms or rules for accepted and expected behavior. The British have a norm for orderly waiting in line. Cultures also vary in their expressiveness. If cultures collide there tends to be an arguement that causes invading of personal spaces.
I learned that another key period for sexual differentiation falls during the fourth and fifth prenatal months of the mother. The sex hormones wire and influence the fetal brain. Different patterns for males and female's develop. Recent research discovered that an abundance of sex hormone receptors contributed to the differences. Testosterone influences males while estrogen influences females. Females also have testosterone but not as much.
I though that the videos were interesting and long. The assignment nurture vs nature really made me think about wether our parents to explain the way we will be as adults. Personally, I think my parents make me what I am today. I wouldn't want it any other way.
I learned that obviously mating preferences are different between males and females but I found some interesting things. Males tend to be attracted to women who have waists that are roughly a third narrower than their hips. Which means that is a sign of future fertility. Males also like women who are younger. Women like men who tend to be more mature, dominent, and bold.
I also learned that each cultural groups evolve their own norms or rules for accepted and expected behavior. The British have a norm for orderly waiting in line. Cultures also vary in their expressiveness. If cultures collide there tends to be an arguement that causes invading of personal spaces.
I learned that another key period for sexual differentiation falls during the fourth and fifth prenatal months of the mother. The sex hormones wire and influence the fetal brain. Different patterns for males and female's develop. Recent research discovered that an abundance of sex hormone receptors contributed to the differences. Testosterone influences males while estrogen influences females. Females also have testosterone but not as much.
I though that the videos were interesting and long. The assignment nurture vs nature really made me think about wether our parents to explain the way we will be as adults. Personally, I think my parents make me what I am today. I wouldn't want it any other way.
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