Blog Post #7

Sensation is the use of our five senses, hear, taste, sight, smell, and touch. The sensation we have is because of the body taking and understanding stimuli and turning it into a sensation or feeling. Perception is the way we perceive or interpret these sensations our body picks up. Depending on our minds it changes how we perceive and sense things occurring in our body.

I found, out of the senses, one of the interesting senses was our sense of smell. Although it’s not as keen as our sense of hearing or sight, it’s an important part of our body functions. Many animals have better sense of smell than humans and they use this to find their prey and mates. This affects me because without the sense of smell mammalian ancestors used their sense of smell, to sniff out food and predators. Without the sense of smell before our cerebral cortex fully developed being able to smell helped keep us alive. Now days sense of smell helps bring back memories. We acquire the liking of a smell when we are babies. It was said that before we knew our mothers smell we did not like it, but after awhile of constant interaction with that smell it because natural to us and a smell we look for, and come to like. I find it very interesting that our sense of smell is one of the hardest to explain. We can only explain what we smell not specifically what that smell is. Usually smells are associated with food or flowers, or even the sweet aroma of a friend, but never and actual name of that smell.

I searched for perception in the psychblog and found an interesting article called “Why Career Planning is Time Wasted.” The article talked about how planning our futures at a young age is a waste of time because you never know what the future brings. Who are we to expect what we will enjoy doing in 5 years time. They did a study on people and their choice of sandwich for lunch. They made two different groups, one group had to choose the sandwiches they predicted they would want to eat throughout the week a week in advance, and the other group had the choice of a sandwich ever day. Results showed they people who were giving the choice that day picked their favorite sandwich and were happy about their decision. The people who had to decide in advance what they wanted to eat each day, when it came to that week they weren’t happy about their decision. I think this proves that as we grow older even just the next week, we are going to have different likes and dislikes. How are we suppose to decide what we want to do as a career in the next 10 years, but can’t even make the simply decision of what we are going to eat in a week. It was said we are very bad at predicting our futures and how we are going to be and feel. They also said a reason it’s time wasted is because our future self is like a stranger to us. Our futures may seem like we have them in control, but we will never know until the time comes.

I find this very interesting because I don’t know what I want to do with my life when I grow older. There are so many paths one can take and it’s hard to decide what one I will like more or will be happy with doing. I never know what life is going to be like or what is going to happen even the next day. I always seem to make list or schedules of things to do and things I have to get done, but they always seem to change or I don’t get them done by my deadlines. I think this article just proves what I do on a daily basis.

Blog Post # 6

I learned a lot by doing the interview. I was able to contrast the different times and how times are different for me and my friends then our grandparents. I helped interview a friend's grandparent and learned a lot about what they did when they were teens. I also talked with my dad and I shocked at how much of a difference things were with him as a teen compared with me as a teen then compared to my friend's grandfather. There was only a difference of 20 years with my dad and 60 years with my friends grandfather. A lot has changed between those times. I can hardly imagine a life with out electricity or little electronics. It's something we live with all the time and we are so use to it, that when we talk with someone form a different generation theres a large difference.

I think the video was very true considering that we all go through our stages of life at different times and I believe that adolescence is a hard time in the life of children. So many things happen and change that are amazing, but can cause problems. There are many good things about becoming an adolescent and there are bad things. Things like puberty, but then it's over and it's better. Our minds are always working and learning new things that it we are always changing. I think my adolescenes was okay. Being 17 is a good age because you are able to drive and you have lots of freedom, but at the same time you have responsibilites that keep you in line. I have had to go through a lot thoughout my life and I think it has and will definitely affect the type of adult I am going to be. I have made a lot of mistakes and have been able to learn from them. I have also learned a lto from my friends and my family about things to do and not to do. I think the life experiences really affect the type of adult a person becomes because of all the changes it makes you go through. You learn so much more and with increased knowledge it helps you become a better adult in the future.

One thing I learned from chapter 4 was a lot about genetics and how we are influenced by all things. I found it very interesting on how many things influence us and push us towards doing something. Most of what I learned dealt with Nature and Nurture. How twins can be fraternal or identical. I found it interesting that identical twins that are seperated still have some to the same habits and how fraternal twins have completely different genetics. I learned a lot about nurture and how much we blame who we are on our parents because of their genetic code was passed down. It talked a lot about gender differences and how they change who we are and how we are treated.

In chapter 5 I learned a lot about how we develop. I found it very interesting how many stages we go through. I found it interesting that when we are little we know a lot because our minds have some things programmed in and we learn how to do them by observing and reanacting them. I thought I was fascinating that a baby is born legally blind because their retina is that strong yet. The videos on parenting and adolescents helped a lot by talking about how our minds develop as we grow older. I found the expirements they did with children at different ranging ages was very cool because they were able to do the same experiment with children at different ages and get different results according to age. It was fascinating that they could decide what a child would choice in and expirement mainly because of the age range they are at because they were able to predict the mental development.

Blog Post #5

The first thing I learned and thought was very interesting was the difference between indentical and fraternal twins. I found out that fraternal twins don't have the same DNA, they are just like the average siblings. The identical twins are the ones that share DNA. It was shocking to find out that the Olson twins were fraternal twins and not identical, you wouldn't be able to tell that by looking at them because they look so alike. I also found it interesting if identical twins were separated at birth and raised in different places and have different lives, they still have some major similarities with one another. I found the one set of identical twins they talked about very interesting. There were two identical twin boys who were separated at birth and 30 years later they found out that they both had a very sanatary life. The one twin was sanitary because his mother liked things clean and in place exactly to a tee. The other man was sanitary simply because his mother was a complete slob. I found it interesting that they could have these very similiar habits when raised completely different.

I also discovered that we are influenced everyday by many different things and people. This influences affect how who were are and what we do. Parents are considered to be part of the nurture of psychology and are to be part of the blame for the outcome of their children. The article that we read about Nature vs. Nurture talked about the influence parents have on their children and how they turn out. Harris explained that nurture and environment should not be used interchangeable and that they have completely different meanings according to how a child turns out. I think personally that parents influence children a lot even without doing anything they affect thier children. You have their genetics and you watch and learn to do what they do. Peers and Cultural things also influence children/teens and what they do.

I also found it interesting that different cultural groups adapt their own way of living that gets passed on to the children. Over time cultures have changed their ways and how things are accepted and allowed. It was interesting to learn about the relationship aspect on psychology. It fascinates me every chapter on how much is involved in psychology and how it all relates. It seems that anything in life has some part in psychology and it all has been researched and scientists have tried to find answers to all the intense question in life.

Blog Post #4

I listened to the radio broadcast "Teens and Sleep" and I found a lot of what they were talking about to be very interesting. It was quite ironic that it was almost midnight when I was listening to this lechure on teens needed sleep. The whole broadcast was about how teens don't get enough sleep because they are always doing somethings and its keeping them up. I find this very relevant to my life becuase I get maybe six hours of sleep every night. I always have homework or I'm working and don't have time to get to my homework until later. I found it interesting that as a teenager our biololgical habits change according to our schedule, but still stay as a regular pace. They used the example that our bodies/minds are in a constant stage of jetlag. I found it strange that according to our age is what determines how much sleep we need and the teen and kids in college require more hours of sleep than younger children and adults. This is because of the growth of our brains. Our minds need our sleep in order for it to function properly.

I also learned that our mind goes through different stages while we sleep and all those stages at up to making different forms of rest. The stage I found most intersting out of the 4 stages involved in sleep was the first stage, the REM stage. I found it very interesting that during our first stage of REM sleep our eyes will move back and forth very rapidly. Also during this stage of sleep the gentials are aroused in both men and women. I also found it cool that during our REM sleep that our dreams are usually emotional and storylike almost hullucinatory.

I also found it very interesting the number of reasons, why it is believed that we dream. Things like we dream in order to satisfy our own wishes or file away memories, to develop and preserve neural pathways, to make sense of neural static, or to reflect cognitive development. It was also very interesting how quickly any drug or stimulant affects the brain and how well your brain functions. I thought it was shocking how quickly the effects take and how it can effect your entire body drastically changing you and your appearance.

I didn't disagree with really anything I thought all the information made sense and I was able to learn a lot from this section about dreams, conscious mind, and how stimulants affect our brains. I somewhat disagree on the radio broadcast I listened to. I understand that teens need lots of sleep to function and when we don't receive or get enough sleep it deprives our bodies from thinking properly or even to be lively. I don't get that much sleep and I am still a very active and enthusiastic student. I retain good grades and have fallen into such a pattern that it no longer affects me. When I get too much sleep it affects me, so sometimes, I think its all on how you do things and are able to manage. It takes a lot to change habits.