Topical Blog Week #1 (ASAP)

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By now you should have been able to log in and comment on the blog site. What we would like you to do now is to go to the following pages and read some of the comments left from the students in the class before you. 

http://www.psychologicalscience.com/perception/2012/04/topical-blog-week-12-due-thursday.html
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/perception/2012/04/topical-blog-week-14-due-thursday.html
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/perception/2012/04/topical-blog-week-13-due-thursday.html

After reading the posts please answer the following:
Which posts did you like the best? Why?
Has reading these posts changed your idea of what sensation / perception is? Why or why not?
Based on these posts are there any specific topics you are interested in learning?

25 Comments

I liked the posts that incorporated more research and concepts from other sources. I enjoyed learning about synesthesia - a condition where the brain's perception of sensory experience is combined. Posts with more information were generally more interesting, and you can tell more time and effort went into posts. Some of the posts did help clarify my current understanding of sensation and perception. I'm looking forward to getting into the course material, especially looking at phantom limbs and music theory.

I liked the posts where it was clear the author knew what they were talking about. This is because when someone skates by on baseline information, the post lacks interest and in-depth information. Reading those sorts of articles is a bit of a waste in my time because I'm not learning much. These posts didn't alter my idea of what sensation and perception is. I had assumed it would be about how people sense the world around them, and in turn interpret that into their perception of that world. Based on the posts I read, phantom limbs are quite intriguing to me. The whole concept is bizarre and I would like to learn more about it.

The post about sensory integration disorder interested me the the most. I had never heard of that condition before. I used the poster's links to read more on the subject and found that very useful. After clicking on the first example blog post my initial reaction was, "holy cow these are long." But after reading them I realized that it isn't going to be so bad. Kind of scared me though. I'm interested in learning more on the subjects of music, synesthesia, and taste.

FIRST QUESTION: Which posts did you like the best? Why?

I enjoyed the posts from Topical Blog Week #15, where you took the topic you had talked about in week#13 & week #14’s assignment and you were asked to then synthesize your findings and write an informative stand-alone post about your topic. The definition of an informative stand-alone post is clearly stated and I really liked how it was left to the student to write what “they” think is informative and what they would share with others, especially to their families, friends, and so forth. (Just recently I have become more and more familiar with blogs, blogging, and bloggers even to the point that I am the Blog Manager for the North American Review which is located on UNI (Barlett Hall). I even created my own blog last year called “thenotyetpsycholgist”, rubybarron.wordpress.com.

The few posts I read under this weeks assignment (Topical Blog Week #15) were extremely interesting and the use of the terminology can be seen as growing through the three separate weeks. I especially appreciated how the student are allowed a free range of where to take their blogs and/or how to present the information. For example, from the student “mcadamsd” (who wrote on April 23, 2011 @ 4:53 AM) he was able to write more on that day than any other day because I believe he felt more at liberal to write anything he wanted to write about and he also had control of how to write it and also when he wanted to write it (4:23 am). Sometimes is the freedom of that can excite the writer in all of us. His use of the language/terminology and his continuous use of the term “selective attention” always made me more interested in the subject. I even at some point grabbed my book and went to the section where it talks about it because I wanted to read some of what the student was reading. On “m.anderson’s” blog, I liked the links/video links. The blog post was much more interesting and written so clever that I, even as another student was curious to see if after all this time the links still worked and to click on them.

I noticed that on each post it was asked that the students list the terminology and concepts used within all the blog posts at the bottom or at the end of the blog post. I definitely see the value in doing that as it shows the student exactly how many terms they use within their own blog. It also keeps us, being the students vigilant in trying to use the terminology as much as possible.

After reading the posts, I kept seeing the all the questions that the students were asked to ask at the end of the some of the blogs and I kept wondering if and when those questions were ever answered or what exactly that was for then.

I definitely would also have liked to see the scores that the past bloggers received seeing that all the blog posts were about different topics and they also have very different content. The blog posts were also very different in length as well.

NEXT QUESTION: Has reading these posts changed your idea of what sensation / perception is? Why or why not?

For me personally, No. Once I started reading the blog posts from other students and looked through the website as a whole, it definitely reminded me of the structure from another class I took with you my first semester here at UNI called "Behavior Modification", which I did take with you Professor MacLin. I also remember you saying “your grade depends on you not me, YOU” and you said it in this class too on the first day of school. I immediately remembered feeling like I was in control again and I liked being in control of my own grade. Whether or not I get all the points is totally up to me and the content of my blog post.

From reading the blog post I can see how some of them are longer than the others, some of them have half of what is asked and others go in great detail and have the terminology that is required. It's because of that statement that I remember how my grade depends on me and me alone so I read more. And then I read more, and then the more, and more I read the more I want to research and looked for different links, and then the more I do that the more I will have to write about.

Having the right amount of information and posting good blogs is what it’s all about. From reading the post I saw that the students are able to go on the internet and research current events/info about their topics and I enjoy researching new links and/or stories about different things. I enjoy reading just to read sometimes and I've realized it has made me a better note taker, too.

And I also remembered how I always wanted to learn more and more terminology so that my list at the end of blog was proof that I had incorporated as many terms into my blog post. I always wanted to out number the number of terms I used from one week to the other and then to the next, as well. I have always enjoyed learning new terminology so that part of the section always intrigued me. And it wasn't just my terminology it was those of my classmates, too. I would look at how many words and what kinds of terms the other students would incorporate in their post.

On the flip side, I also remembered I got a “B+” in Behavior Modification class because I missed a couple of assignments due to some medical issues (Gall bladder removed) and deep down I knew I could have gotten an “A” if I would have just made one assignment up. But that’s okay because now I have another chance and know that I will give this semester my very best at learning as much of Sensation & Perception as I can and master all the key points of the subject.

When I first selected this course, I thought it was going to be about sensations being like sensory simulations, i.e. eyes seeing light and ears hearing sound and perceptions meaning the study of how we perceive it through feelings or senses of some sort.

After reading the definitions of the two terms from the book I have, “Sensation & Perception” by E. Bruce Goldstein (8th ed.) and from my research via the internet, I found that Sensation means the process by which stimulation of a sensory receptor gives rise to neural impulses that result in an experience, or awareness of, conditions inside or outside the body and Perception means the processes that organize information in the sensory image and interpret it as having been produced by properties of objects or events in the external, three-dimensional world. Both of those definitions are way more complex than my version.

Once again, I know that I will have to read the chapter

Based on these posts are there any specific topics you are interested in learning?

Definitely Selective Attention and also Sensory Integration Disorder because before the post I had never heard of it either as Tanner stated. I also was intrigued by a blog post involving Synesthesia. Since I did not know what that was I immediately had to find out even if it was just to define it.

Synaesthesia - a phenomenon in which presentation of stimuli from one sense can cause an experience associated with another sense. Another way to see it is a curious condition where there is a mingling of the senses due to cross-wiring in the brain. Like hearing a musical note for example might cause a person with synesthesia to see a particular colour; C is red, F sharp is blue. Another would be seeing light in response to sound like a laser light show.

Terms: Sensation, Perception, Behavior Modification, synesthesia, sensory, stimulation, senses, brain,

Left out some of my terms: Sensory Integration Disorder,stimuli, senses, synthesize, neural impulses, sensory receptor.

Of these post I liked the one done about the cognitive effects of odor perception. This person chose a topic that peaked my interest because they talked about the different smells they encountered and how normally we would not relate them to one another we still can see how they work together, The person also stated how they worked in a restaurant before and it made me think about when I too work at a restaurant and I thought back to what I remembered from that time. Not to be surprised but a lot of what I could recall was related to the scents and foods. I began working as a dishwasher and the soap we used was very strong lemon scented and I absolutely loved it, one because I like lemons, and two because it masked the smell of the stinky plates that were being brought back to me to clean. I also recall when I worked in the kitchen how wonderful the smell of fresh alfredo sauce was, of course the real stuff not the store prepackaged sludge that you could buy at any old Hy-Vee or Walmart, but the homemade stuff that we created. I also remembered that if not made correctly it would burn very easily and the whole restaurant would stink that day like something was constantly burning.
Reading these post have not necessarily changed my idea of what sensation and perception is, but it has made me stop to think about how I recall previous memories and what I remember from those time. Usually when I remember something there are all different kinds of senses related to a memory. Like when I think back on my wedding day. I do not think of this memory as just a movie being replayed, I think of how silky my dress felt, how nervous I was, how beautiful my husband looked and the scent of lilac everywhere. Also everything was covered in purple which is a color I really like but cannot explain why. All of these thing I believe are related to perception and sensation though I do not know the science behind why yet.
I believe I am interested more in the topic of smells and how it contributes to our sensations and perceptions in everyday life, so I look forward to doing more in-depth research in this sort of vague area that I like.

Terms: Sensation, Perception, Scents, senses, memories

I liked the post about music, this post was the most interesting and the most personally significant. Music is something that I am very much involved in and always have been so to find out more ways that it connects to psychology is very interesting to me. Reading these posts didn't change my view on sensation and perception as I have already taken classes like this its just another perception too look at it. I am interested in looking more into the different senses and how they are effecting our everyday lives.

I really liked the post over "selective attention." I thought the subject looked really interesting and that the person who explained it went into good detail. I honestly don't have a huge idea over what exactly Sensation & Perception entails but seeing music perception and selective attention in a few blogs has me really interested in what it's all about. After reading about selective attention and the examples included about it I'm really interested in that topic. I think it'd be really interesting to know why we have selective attention or how selective attention works.

posts that were the most detailed are the best. I liked these because it gives a better picture and is easy to read. Music theory seems interesting, looking forward to learning more about it and other similar theories. Based on the posts the class will be about what I was expecting. I've taken a few other classes like this and they seem to relate a little, so I kind of knew what to expect.

I like posts that contain personal opinions and that not just blindly agreeing with the text or the information they found online. Personal opinions mean they understand the information and have processed it enough to have an opinion or disagree with it. Good posts are posts that contain personal experiences, critical thinking, and passion. These posts excel because they show that the writers have read and understood the materials fully, and have made connections with their personal experiences that they could relate to the materials. I didn’t, and still don’t know enough about sensation and perception to have any idea changed. And based on these posts, I am very interested in the topic of selective attention – I am interested in eye witness testimony, and it would be interesting to see how much selective attention affects memories recall.

I found myself reading the posts in which the writer had given real world examples along with the scientific theory. In one post the writer discussed odor perception and used his (her?) own experiences in working at Carlos O’Kelly’s and how the smell was perceived at work, by him and then by others outside of work. The mixture of terms from the book and the real world examples helped make the subject understandable to someone who has not yet read the material.
Reading the posts along with reading the first chapter was eye opening on how mathematical the subject is because when we think of the terms sensation and perception the synonym we tend to associate with them would be subjective. It is not something I had really thought of as precisely measurable.
There were quite a few blogs that were really interesting. The topics that stood out to me personally were those on attention, odor perception and synesthesia. I think the topic of attention is interesting because it is such a hotly debated issue. The problem is the main arguments we hear about how to treat people with issues regarding attention are generally not trained in any way to have an expertise on the subject. Odor perception is interesting to me because I find I can be very sensitive to odors, especially when people have foul smelling odors. Sometimes I have wondered how people can stand themselves or been in complete awe of people in the medical profession and their abilities to handle all of the smells that come their way. The topic of synesthesia is one that sounds like the stuff of science fiction. I have heard a very small amount about it and am curious to read the scientific descriptions that the book has on it.

My favorite post would be the second link. I found the comments interesting and look forward to reading more about the Von Restorff Isolation Effect. I find memory interesting and I look forward to learning about how our brains remember information. I think that I had a pretty good understanding of what the study of sensation and perception was, but reading these posts have enlightened me to more subjects within this area of research.

I liked the articles that talked about disorders, such as SID or ADHD. I really like abnormal psych but really haven't learned a lot about disorders that influence sensation and perception beyond visual and auditory hallucinations in disorders such as schizophrenia.

I think they enriched the understanding i already had. Some of the articles mentioned synthesis which i have heard of before. But, i think it opened my eyes to the more complex workings that are involved in things like memory, sight, etc.

I didn't read any posts about this topic but i would like to find out more about color blindness and OCD related to visual stimuli. I have OCD with number and color and some colors can actually upset me or disgust me, so i'd be interested in researching how OCD is related to perception and can influence behavior, and why some people have it and others do not.

After reading past blog posts I decided that the posts and concepts that I like the most were longer and thoroughly covered. Students who covered material well and used proper vocabulary and outside references made the reading fun and easy to understand. I particularly liked the post that addressed SID (Sensory Integration Disorder). My sister has the disorder so I am extremely interested in learning more about how her brain receives information through her senses which then aids in her ability to perceive her world.
The posts that followed the requirements of the blog furthered my understanding of what sensation and perception is. They provided interesting facts and aspects of perception such as music, selective attention, and disorders.
I am extremely interested in learning about the visual system, and disorders such as SID. I believe this class will be interesting and engaging enough to keep me focused on every topic. I'm ready to learn all about sensation and perception!

Terms: Sensory Integration Disorder, perception, sensation, selective attention

I personally liked the posts about music, as I have always found music mesmerizing with its lyrical flow and melodic trance. I have even done research in another class on binaural beat therapy. I was able to grasp what those students learned in the chapters they read, without having to read them myself. I have been in a choir of some sort from Kindergarten until my sophomore year of college, when my class loads got too heavy for me to also be in a choir. It has always been a hobby of mine, and also it is how became acquainted with many of my friends. I do miss it from time to time, but we all have songs that we randomly sing from time to time, though it is just for fun, or to entertain people at nursing homes that we visit in our hometown from time to time in the summers when we are all together. I like how one blog post said that music can be a workout for many parts of the brain. The psychology behind music interests me also, and I will probably do more research on it to see what I can find out about some questions I have, like how can music cause us to change our emotional state, how come we can get songs stuck in our heads, and at what age is it optimal to learn how to play an interment (when is the neural plasticity and motor functioning at its peak to introduce a child to an internment)? I always have wondered why every culture has their own form of music, and why some have this internal need to express their emotions through song writing. I personally like to write songs when lyrics come to me, though I am not talented enough to perform them, getting the lyrics down on a page seems to make them seem more real, than just verses and rhyme schemes circling through my mind. “Music is life, that’s why our hearts have beats”.

I liked the posts that used research to explain the concepts they were talking about since those posts were the best explained posts. Explaining the posts was important as I didn't know what they were talking about since we haven’t read chapter 13 yet. My idea of the class hasn't really changed as I felt I got a pretty good grasp on the class when I read chapter 1 last week. Music/how people feel when they hear music is a topic I feel like I would like to learn more about as music is a key part of my life. I am also interested in how music effects memory as I am curious as to why I still remember terrible songs I hate despite my best efforts to avoid just that.

Which posts did you like the best? Why?
After reading through the links in the previous semesters topics, the topics that I would really like to know more about are the SID (Sensory Integration Disorder) and attention deficit disorder. The students that picked their topic typically had a very distinguished interest in that topic. The student used the terminology throughout their blog, and used them with confidence. The more we use the terminology we read about and apply it to our blogs, the better we learn and retain that information. That is one part of this class that still intimidates me.
Has reading these posts changed your idea of what sensation / perception is? Why or why not?

After reading these blog posts, they have changed my idea of what this class will entail. Last semester I took Biopsychology and found that very interesting. After skimming through this text book, there are some things along those same lines. For instance the chapter on the on/off center light, this was interesting to learn about last semester, so I’m kind of intrigued to learn more about it.

All of these posts were very interesting, but the one that stood out to me was the one about "Selective attention" this one caught my attention first and formal because i find it very interesting reading about selective attention, like being a multi tasker, listening to music while doing homework, talking on the phone while watching tv, etc. i took cognitive psych and we did alot of activities regarding to this topic. the author of the post was very detailed orientated and explained the topic very well without confusing people about it. After reading these blogs, it gave me an idea on what will be expected of us, what we must do in order to do well in this class, honestly i think that we all have our own ideas of how things are suppose to feel, and how we're supposed to see things, but i think this class is going to personally teach me Why are things working the way that they do, whether my way of thinking will remain the same at the end or change for the better, i think that mostly this class is going to clarify many things that i am already very curious of.

Coming into this class I was unsure what to expect. Im not super clear what all sensation and perception includes. Reading old post has given me a much better understanding of what it is and what to expect. Each blog I read was interesting and helped me learn more about this class and what we will learn. Each one was interesting to read.but one that caught my interest was the one about CID because I have learned some about it but never new so much detail about it. And reading that shows me how in depth we will go about leaning about sensation in this class.

I enjoyed reading many of these posts but the posts that really stuck out to me and caught my attention were the posts about selective attention. I didn't exactly realize that there were so many different kinds of selective attention such as selective exposure, selective comprehension, selective distortion, and selective retention. All of these terms have different meanings but in a way connect and branch off of each other. The human mind is so complex and sometimes people may not know how powerful it is.
I came into this class having little knowledge about sensation and perception but after reading some of these posts I am really interested in finding out more. I believe I will learn a lot of things in this class that connect to each other in a way. So many things will click in my brain when I learn further into the details of sensation and perception.
I would really like to learn more about everything because it all seems interesting. I am very interested in how the mind works and how much power our brain has over our body. I believe that sensation and perception will teach me a lot of things and I am excited to start learning even more.

Which posts did you like the best? Why?
All of the posts were similar yet different at the same time. Basically the students went in depth to explain what they found interesting and what they didn't. they did research on the topics they enjoyed so that they could further their knowledge on the subject. I enjoyed the posts about music perception; I liked how the students who chose it to be the most interesting to them picked that subject because they could relate it to their own lives.


Has reading these posts changed your idea of what sensation / perception is? Why or why not?
It hasn't changed what I thought sensation and perception was but it did help me to realize how much their is to sensation and perception. It isn't just an "on the surface" topic. It can be integrated into so many different topics. I think that makes for a much more exciting course.


Based on these posts are there any specific topics you are interested in learning?
I would like to learn more on the music perception and how it can affect us. I also found the topic of SID (sensory integration disorder) to be of interest. I think all of the topics which we will cover will be interesting in their own ways if you allow them to. Any time you can take what you are learning and actually apply it to yourself it becomes an interesting topic. Being able to change how you see and experience everything around you is incredible. Last semester I took the course Motivation and Emotion and some of the smallest things we learned shocked me as to how they changed my outlook on larger aspects of my life.

The posts that I liked the best incorporated research material and evidence to provide detail and credibility towards the topic of interest. I also enjoyed topics of interest that were backed by a real world experience or situation. Using a key term then providing an example of how it is used in the real world helps the reader understand that the author is knowledgeable on the topic he or she is describing. Reading these posts have not changed my idea of what sensation and perception is. Selective attention for example is a topic beforehand I knew would be associated with this class. Selective attention is a tool that often is used in order to restrict processing to a smaller set of stimuli. Our visual system processes a lot of information, so it has to distinguish what is important and what is not. I am interested in this topic of selective attention and would like to learn about how we distinguish what is important and what is not. The visual system and its processes also interest me and I would like to learn more about, our visual system processes such a vast amount of information and visuals I would just enjoy going more in depth in the topic.

The post that I liked the best had to deal with selective attention. I liked this because I think it would be something interesting to learn about. Also, I liked it because they added a youtube video which I find more interesting than just reading something. After reading these posts I think it gave me a more clear understanding of what this class will be about. Reading these has also made me realize how this class will incorporate what we are learning to real life, like listening to music. I think that I will be interested in learning about music perception and how it plays a part in our communication and emotions.

I liked the first post, I think it does a good job about bringing sensation and perception really into perspective how amazing our visual system truly is. It goes deeper into how our brain chooses what to be looking at out of the thousands of things around us. It talks about how fMRIS can be used to look into our brain to see the visual system. I think it was a cool perspective to have on it more than the every day what you think about when you think about your 'visual system'

Concerning the posts in general, I most liked the ones that did not just regurgitate information from sources but rather put in their personal thoughts on the subject as well. If I was just interested in the factual information, I could just read the book or find it on google. The posts did not really change how I see sensation and perception, because I have spent a lot of time discussing the topic fairly broadly in both psychology and philosophy classes. I am looking forward to learning about selective attention, though. It is a topic I have always been interested but never really took the time to research it on my own.

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