Real-Life Examples of Elements of Perception

There are four different factors that can influence our perception:

1) Absolute Threshold
2) Difference Threshold
3) Signal-Detection Theory
4) Sensory Adaptation

Can you provide a real-life example of one of these and explain this? For example, when someone who is obese gains 10 pounds, we are not likely to notice. But when someone who is very thin gains 10 pounds, we are much more likely to notice. This is due to the concept of Weber's Law (thanks Shannon D!!!)

There are other examples that we could become aware of each and every day. Your job is to identify only one and explain it for our friendly neighborhood bloggers!

GET BLOGGING!!!

Backmasking and Phantom words

Backmasking is a technique that is related to subliminal messages that students are usually fascinated with. Subliminal messages are stimuli that occurs below our absolute thresholds. As a result, we may be able to detect this information sometimes (less than 50% of the time, in fact!). While we ARE able to process information below our conscious level of awareness, this information will probably not have that much of an impact on our behavior. Couple this fact with the understanding that we can sometimes be primed to "hear" or "see" certain messages, these will sometimes become more convincing. Remember, though, according to research, "these have little or no value in determining our behavior".

Nonetheless, these can be fun to explore and play around with. Here's a link with some backmasked messages.

Backmasking

There is also some research done on "phantom words". I barely understand the concept of phantom words, but this is an amazing illusion in and of itself. Check out this link if you are interested.

Phantom Words

Any reaction to backmasked messages? Are you able to hear any phantom words in some of the messages? Let's start the board!

FORMER STUDENTS SPEAK!!!!!

You may have noticed that there have been a few times that I have received comments from former students in random areas of the blogs. As such, I've created there own special place in the WEB Universe!!

That's right folks; when good ol' Mr. Mac has got ya down and you think he has finally flipped his lid by asking you to do yet ANOTHER endless project, just take a look at some comments from some former students and take solace that, even though it's A LOT of work... the effort DOES pay off in the end!!!

Feedback from first exam

Well, you made it! The first exam has come and gone and it appears to have gone as well as possible. I was very pleased with the way both classes have come together toward the end of the Unit and asking very solid questions! Although it may not be evident from the first exam scores, there is a tremendous amount of learning taking place. I was ASTONISHED to find out that there were actual "official" study sessions before the exam. To my knowledge, this has NEVER happened in the 6 years that I've been teaching the course, and it's nice to see that we're starting to build a community of learners. Thanks go out to Java Trails for the meeting space, and if you'd like, if you give me some advance notice, I will make the much desired "guest appearance".


But enough from MY perspective; I'd like to hear some of your feedback. What are your reactions from the first exam? Did you feel like you prepared enough? Was the exam consistent with your expectations? What will you do differently to prepare for the exam on Unit 2? I'd like to hear some feedback from your perspective.

Freudian Slips

According to Sigmund Freud, freudian slips, or parapraxia, is an error in speech or actions that would be believed to be caused by the unconscious mind. What is unclear, however, is whether these "mistakes" are just mishaps of the mind, or if they have deeper significance. While some may dismiss what they have said as an "honest mistake", these may actually give some insight into the unconscious mind. It is not entirely clear, even, as to whether Freud himself would allow for the ability for the human mind to make "honest mistakes" or, if every instance has a deeper, hidden meaning.

Nonetheless, it can be insightful to examine behaviors to try to determine what may be happening in the unconscious mind. This IS NOT as scientific as some other Psychological methods, but can be useful at times.

An example would be if someone stated in a conversation that they "took a summer school curse this summer." Freud may have said that this mistake could give you insight into an individuals' unconscious mind, and as a result, could tell what that person's impressions of the course were. After all, it must have been a curse for the entire semester!

I had reflected on another example that I had some personal experience with this summer. I had attended a wedding reception of a friend, and the time for the best man's speech had arrived. The best man, the brother of the groom, stood up and said some very nice things about both the bride and the groom. Toward the end of his remarks he closed, by mentioning some very nice things about the bride and welcoming her to the family. However, he closed by saying "Not only is she beautiful on the inside, but she is even more beautiful on the outside."

After some period of very uncomfortable silence, the best man, embarrassed, corrected himself to the laughter of his audience. What's the point? Well, clearly he had switched up the words inside and outside, causing an awkward moment. But, is this really a reflection of his unconscious mind at work, or is this just an indication of his nervousness and apprehension about giving the speech in front of a captive audience? Tough to tell, but certainly allowed for some interesting dinner conversation!!!

Are you aware of any Freudian slips that you have experienced, either personally or on television/movies? Please keep in mind the need to protect the anonymity of the individuals you are speaking of when you post comments. Identifying specific indivuals is not appropriate and will not be allowed, but if you can give specific examples that would help to demonstrate this phenomenon, it may be helpful.

Psychics and Psychology

Was glad to see that those of you in my AP classes enjoyed the "Secrets of the Psychics" clip as much as I thought you would. It's very well done, and something that I found out about this summer from an AP conference that I attended.

If you would want to read more about "The Amazing Randi" or skepticism in general, or even have a shot at winning $1 million if you can prove that you have "Super Powers" under a controlled setting, you can check his site out here

Hopefully this week, you'll see how this ties in with statistics and developing an experiment.

A friendly reminder, also about the homework assignment due Tuesday, Sept. 12. You can access the two different websites you need to complete the assignment here or here

Feel free to post any comments on this blog site about what you've seen, reactions, etc...

AP Psychology @ Norwin High School

Greetings all! I hope you find this to be a pleasant learning experience.