Sensation is how our senses interact with our brains. Our five sense--sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing--all allow us to sense the world around us. Perception is the way we perceive our environment. It is how we organize the information our senses provide us with.
The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter was about Heather Sellers. Sellers had an issue with her perception and was unable to recognize people's faces. She wrote a book entitled Face First that tells about a bunch of awkward moments her inability to recognize faces caused. I thought this whole story was really interesting because I think it would really suck to not be able to recognize faces. A person would have to be reintroduced to someone every time they met. You wouldn't be able to distinguish among friends, family, and strangers. I would hate to have a perception disorder like this. This doesn't really change how I look at life. There's really no way to apply this to my everyday life, except that it makes me realize how lucky I am not to have any weird disorders like this.
I read the article called "Seven Ways Music Influences Mood." This article was about a study done on how music affects our moods. They described 7 ways people use music to improve how they feel: 1) Entertainment-providing stimulation, 2) Revival-to wake up in the morning or calm down in the evening, 3) Strong sensation-thrilling feeling of musical performers, 4) Diversion-provides a distraction from poor thoughts, 5) Discharge-release of emotions, 6) Mental work-takes us to another time and place in the past, and 7) Solace-reminds us of a person we have lost touch with. I found this article interesting because I listen to music almost non-stop throughout the day. I especially like the part about mental work and solace because this is totally true for me. When I hear an old song, it reminds me of the day that I first heard it and the people I was with. Certain songs also remind me of certain people, especially ones I don't talk to that much anymore. This doesn't change how I think about things because I already thought about music this way. I already use this in my everyday life.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Blog Post #6
I learned a lot of things from the interview with my grandma. For example, I didn't know that farm kids were allowed to skip school during the harvest season to help collect crops. One thing my grandma told me that surprised me was that everyone's phone line was connected on the same circuit back then. This means that when one person tried to call someone, everyone's phone in the neighborhood would ring. They all had specific ring tones and if yours was the one coming from the phone, it meant the call was for you. If not, you weren't supposed to pick up the phone because you would end up eaves-dropping on one of your neighbors conversations.
My life is very different from my grandma's as a teenager. First of all, girls back in her time dressed differently. Jeans weren't acceptable for society and young girls were to wear skirts or dresses all the time. I wear jeans basically everywhere I go. Also, girls' necklines were pretty much non-existent. They wore high-collared shirts and barely ever exposed skin below their neck. Now days, girls get in trouble for showing off too much cleavage. There is also way more technology now than there was when my grandma was young. I don't know what I would do without the Internet, radio, and my cell phone. I think it would be a neat experience to live back in my grandma's time, but I don't think I would like it very much. I would probably get bored really quickly because there wasn't much to do for fun back then.
The "Parenting and Adolescents" video made me think about my life at home. I agree with the video when it said that kids and their parents often make a big argument over some small, insignificant matter. My parents and I fight about stupid things all the time and the argument is usually blown way out of proportion. My teenage years have been memorable, emotional, exciting, and so much fun. I think that these years will affect me as an adult because I have learned a lot throughout them. I believe that I will benefit from all of my experiences and have more knowledge in the adult world from them.
One thing I found interesting in chapter 4 was in the section about gender development. A boy in Canada was born and lost his male parts in a circumcision accident and his parents decided to raise him as a girl. As the child grew, 'she' didn't like any girl toys or girls clothing and played a lot rougher than other females of her age. She wasn't interested in boys at all as she grew up. Her parents decided to tell her about the accident. The child then decided to become the male they were born as and assumed a new name, David. He married a woman later on but committed suicide shortly after. I think it's interesting how biologically your body knows what sex you are even if people try to tell you differently from birth. I would be really mad if something like this happened to me and upset that my parents didn't tell me earlier.
I found childhood amnesia interesting in chapter 5. The book stated that most of us can't remember much of anything before age 3. I think that this is strange that our brains just simply forget everything once we pass through our third birthday. I also think this is a true statement because I can't remember a single thing from my early years.
My life is very different from my grandma's as a teenager. First of all, girls back in her time dressed differently. Jeans weren't acceptable for society and young girls were to wear skirts or dresses all the time. I wear jeans basically everywhere I go. Also, girls' necklines were pretty much non-existent. They wore high-collared shirts and barely ever exposed skin below their neck. Now days, girls get in trouble for showing off too much cleavage. There is also way more technology now than there was when my grandma was young. I don't know what I would do without the Internet, radio, and my cell phone. I think it would be a neat experience to live back in my grandma's time, but I don't think I would like it very much. I would probably get bored really quickly because there wasn't much to do for fun back then.
The "Parenting and Adolescents" video made me think about my life at home. I agree with the video when it said that kids and their parents often make a big argument over some small, insignificant matter. My parents and I fight about stupid things all the time and the argument is usually blown way out of proportion. My teenage years have been memorable, emotional, exciting, and so much fun. I think that these years will affect me as an adult because I have learned a lot throughout them. I believe that I will benefit from all of my experiences and have more knowledge in the adult world from them.
One thing I found interesting in chapter 4 was in the section about gender development. A boy in Canada was born and lost his male parts in a circumcision accident and his parents decided to raise him as a girl. As the child grew, 'she' didn't like any girl toys or girls clothing and played a lot rougher than other females of her age. She wasn't interested in boys at all as she grew up. Her parents decided to tell her about the accident. The child then decided to become the male they were born as and assumed a new name, David. He married a woman later on but committed suicide shortly after. I think it's interesting how biologically your body knows what sex you are even if people try to tell you differently from birth. I would be really mad if something like this happened to me and upset that my parents didn't tell me earlier.
I found childhood amnesia interesting in chapter 5. The book stated that most of us can't remember much of anything before age 3. I think that this is strange that our brains just simply forget everything once we pass through our third birthday. I also think this is a true statement because I can't remember a single thing from my early years.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Blog Post #5
One of the things that I found interesting when reading chapter 4 was the section about identical twins. More specifically, I liked the part about the two identical twins who were seperated at birth and raised by two different families. These men were both named Jim, with different last names, and had many similarities in their different lives. Both men had the same interests, named their dog Toy, and their sons Jim. I found it very surprising that these men carried out different lives, but yet so many things were similar about them.
Another thing that I read that I found interesting was the part about mating preference. The book talked about how men go for women who are younger-looking and who have waists that are about a 1/3 smaller than their hips. Our past ancestors believed that women who had these qualities would be able to have children for many years to come and researchers believe that this is why men look for these qualitites now. On the other hand, women look for men who are stable, strong, and would make a good father/provider for their children. Women in the past wanted a man who would stick around and help take care of their children.
I also learned the nurture aspect of people's lives begin long before they are born; in the womb. The environment in the womb (the nutrition we receive and the toxins we are exposed to) begins the nurturing part of our lives. When we are born, our early experience in life help our brain to develop and influence our characteristics as we get older.
I also learned the nurture aspect of people's lives begin long before they are born; in the womb. The environment in the womb (the nutrition we receive and the toxins we are exposed to) begins the nurturing part of our lives. When we are born, our early experience in life help our brain to develop and influence our characteristics as we get older.
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