see attachment GPModule4Class.docx Module 4: Lecture Conten

see attachment

GPModule4Class.docx

Module 4:

Lecture Content – Sensation and Perception

Topic 1: Sensation

Human beings have a variety of senses that help us understand our environment, perceive the world, and manage the circumstances of our daily lives. Stimuli vary in intensity, and so do our reactions to stimuli. Psychology studies sensation based on the activation of the sensory organs and how this process influences behavior.

To begin discussion of this topic, consider the following definitions (Feldman et al., 2017):

Sensation	It is the activation of the sensory organs by a physical energy source.
Perception	It is the classification, interpretation, analysis, and integration of the stimuli carried out by the sensory organs and the brain.
Stimulus	When passing, it is any source of energy that produces a response in a sensory organ.
Adaptation	Adjustment in sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli. It is when we get used to a stimulus, we adapt. For example, when you are in the theater watching a movie for an extended period in dim light, and when the movie ends, the intensity of the light changes. Your eyes struggle to adjust at first.

Consider this definition of sensation:

“An irreducible unit of experience produced by stimulation of a sensory receptor and the resultant activation of a specific brain center, producing basic awareness of a sound, odor, color, shape, or taste or temperature, pressure, pain, muscular tension, the position of the body, or change in the internal organs associated with such processes as hunger, thirst, nausea, and sexual excitement (APA, 2020).

After learning about sensation, perception, stimulus, and adaptation, you can probably relate the information to many experiences in your life.

Which of your senses do you think is most sensitive to stimulation? Compare which is more sensitive to you: for example, is it touch or hearing?

Let’s review the following examples:

?¢ If our ears were more acute, we would hear the sound of air molecules. Would it be easy to live like this? Can you imagine being able to hear everything? How could this affect your mental health?
?¢ The sound of a doorbell is heard louder in a quiet room, even though it is the same volume as in a noisy room. Why is that? Two key aspects to consider:

o Weber’s Law: A barely perceptible difference is in constant proportion to the intensity of an initial stimulus.
o Absolute threshold: The lowest intensity that a stimulus must present to be detected.

Example: Sensation and pain

Touch, pressure, temperature, and pain play a crucial role in the survival of the individual. Thanks to the nerve receptor cells of the cutaneous senses, we are aware of the danger around us.

Imagine not feeling any pain. Imagine feeling pain all the time. Is it possible?

Unfortunately, yes. A person can be in constant and extreme pain due to a cell injury. Some people do not feel pain as most of us do, and it can be very dangerous. Pain works as an alert system for our survival. If we do not feel pain, we may not seek medical help when needed.

Pain’s association with emotions and thoughts

: Pain can also be a perceptual response. How?

Have you ever felt the pain of the needle when your blood is drawn before the needle touches your skin? The pain may be from your perception related to the needle. If you are afraid of needles, it will probably hurt more.

Topic 2: Perceptual organization

The perception of the human being is composed of many factors that are related and contribute to defining how we interpret our environment. In psychology, the properties of stimuli are studied through psychophysics to understand their psychological experience of them.

The American Psychological Association defines perception as:

“The process or result of becoming aware of objects, relationships, and events employing the senses, which includes such activities as recognizing, observing, and discriminating. These activities enable organisms to organize and interpret the stimuli received into meaningful knowledge and to act in a coordinated manner.” (APA, 2020)

So, what does this mean in the study of psychology? There are different areas worth discussing to understand the importance of perception.

A movement considered the first school of psychology as a science. In the early 20th century, German psychologists Wolfgang KÃ¶hler, Kurt Koffka, and Max Wertheimer developed what is known as Gestalt psychology. They wanted to go against structuralism. Structuralism established that psychology was the study of mental experience and sought to investigate the structure of such experience through a systematic program of experiments based on trained introspection.

The American Psychological Association defines Gestalt psychology and its principles of organization as:

“a psychological approach that focuses on the dynamic organization of experience into patterns or configurations. Gestalt psychology establishes that experience is an organized whole of which the pieces are an integral part. Gestalt’s principles of organization are principles of perception derived by the Gestalt psychologists that describe the tendency to perceive and interpret specific configurations at the whole level rather than in terms of their component features (APA, 2020).

We perceive a pattern in the most elementary and straightforward way possible when we observe it. Do you think this is true? Let’s put it to the test.

What do you see in the image? (See figure 1).

Figure 1. Example

Answer: The figure contains lines. This would be the answer if we see it most simply. Lines in different directions and of the same color. But maybe you saw something more complex.

Did you see:

·

· Two lines and a diamond shape

· A letter W on top and an M on the bottom

· Two letter K’

· What else?

*These are all correct. Figure 1 is a good example of Gestalt’s principles of organization.

You may have never heard or read about Gestalt psychology. The fact is this is not a prominent area of contemporary psychology, but it is considered a classic theory that supported later studies. The idea that objects considered together form a whole, which is different from the simple combination of objects, is one of the key takeaways from Gestalt psychology. Gestalt psychologists argue that the perception of stimuli in our environment goes beyond the individual elements we perceive. This represents an active constructive process taking place within the brain.

Many processes influence perceptions. Let’s try another example.

What is the difference between these symbols? How is it that you know the difference despite the similarities?

Î?Î²8

Perception proceeds along two different paths, descending and ascending.

The ascending allows processing fundamental characteristics of the stimuli, and the descending gives the possibility of contributing our experience to influence our perception.

This gives us a clearer idea of ????how the brain interprets information from the senses to make appropriate responses to the environment.

We can understand depth and depth perception thanks to our two eyes because each retina receives a different image. The brain integrates both images to see, recognizes the difference in the images, and uses it to estimate the distance an object is from us. Depth perception is the ability to see the world in three dimensions which helps to perceive distance.

*Exercise: Pick up your pen and hold your hand; look at it with one eye first and then the other. Do you see a difference? No. Now repeat the same exercise but with your hand closer.

Other key definitions:

Binocular Disparity:

The difference between the image received by the left and right eye.

Monocular cues:

Cues that allow one to get a sense of depth and distance with one eye.

Perceptual Constancy

is a phenomenon in which physical objects are perceived as invariant and consistent despite changes in their appearance or the physical environment. We consider objects to have immutable size, shape, color, and brightness. But how we apply can deceive us.

An example of perceptual constancy is how we see the moon. Near the horizon, it looks huge, but the actual image of the moon on the retina is always the same. When the moon is close to the horizon, perceptual cues from terrain and objects get in the way, producing a misleading sense of distance that leads us to perceive the moon as relatively large mistakenly. When it is high up, we see it alone and do not try to compensate for its distance from us, so perceptual constancy makes us perceive it as a relatively more minor object. This is not the only explanation, but it is one of the most popular since other perceptual processes participate in this phenomenon.

Perception of movement:

The stimulus to the retina leads us to interpret the movement. This apparent motion is the perception that a stationary object is in motion. For example: when we are on the train or subway that is not yet running, it seems to be moving because the train on the other track has started to move.

Subliminal perception:

Refers to the perception of messages about which we are not aware. A stimulus can be a word, smell, or sound that activates the sensory system but is not intense enough. Like the word thirsty in a soda advertisement leads to drinking a soda. There is little evidence that these subliminal messages can control our behavior, but they can influence it.

Crucial to perception is how we integrate information about our head and eye movements with information about changes in the retinal image.

Experiences also influence perception.

So, is there a relationship between culture and perception?

Yes, there is a basic connection between our prior knowledge, needs, motivations, and expectations about how the world fits together and how we perceive it.

Our view of the world is largely a product of fundamental psychological factors. Each person perceives the environment in a unique and special way.

Example

:

Imagine we were able to travel to the US and PerÃº to investigate culture and perceptions. First, we show a video of the latest North American movie about clandestine car racing to a group of young people in California (USA). Then, we show the same video to a group of young people who live on the Uros Islands in PerÃº. (Search for Uros island to understand more about their culture before you answer the following questions).

Do you think there would be big differences in perception about the film? What factors would influence their perceptions?

Look for more examples related to perception and differences by culture

References:

American Psychological Association [APA]. (2020). Gestalt principles of organization. APA dictionary of psychology.

https://dictionary.apa.org/gestalt-principles-of-organizationLinks to an external site.

Feldman, R. S., VillagÃ³mez, A., VillaseÃ±or, M., GarcÃa, J. M. L., Ortiz, M. E., NuÃ±ez, J. L., Palos, E., & Olivares, S. O. (2017).

PsicologÃa con aplicaciones de AmÃ©rica Latina

. McGraw-Hill Education.

GPModule4.1docx.docx

Module 4:

Presentation- Phantom Limb or Extrasensory Perception

Compare and analyze scientific information to design a presentation and answer the given question.

Instructions

a. Consider the following statement and question:
Not everything that is sensed is perceived. The sensation is directly related to our five senses. Do you think it??s possible something could be perceived without being sensed?
b. Complete a search for academic resources based on the statement and question. Consider the following areas of research: Phantom limb or extrasensory perception. Answer the question in your presentation. Explain, discuss, and be specific. Create and design a presentation based on your findings.
c. Be creative. You can use any format or software you prefer to complete it. (PowerPoint, Publisher, Canva, video, etc.)
d. Your presentation must include a minimum of 3 references in APA style.

Be sure to review the

academic expectations

for your submission.

Submission Instructions:

· Submit your assignment by 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday.

· It should include at least three academic sources, formatted and cited in APA.

· Review the rubric to determine how your assignment will be graded.

· Your assignment will be run through TurnItIn to check for plagiarism. Please check your results, make any necessary corrections and resubmit a revised copy if the system identifies issues.