Here are some of the great discussion topics from the psychology class Sensation and Perception that Ive been taking this summer. Anyone want to have a go at answering any of them?? They were all really fascinating topics for me to research and learn about! Do you have any knowledge to share on any of the topics? Fun stuff, this! 1) Are you a Nativist/Idealist or an Empiricist? That is, do you believe like Plato that there are things that are known that are not derived from experience? Or, do you believe like Hobbes that all that is known is learned through the senses? 2) How does the understanding of the limits of our senses affect your trust in them? Likewise, how does this understanding affect your trust in science and other empirically-based endeavors? 3) Should animal experimentation be banned? Provide a reasoned (not emotional) argument for or against the banning of animal research. 3) Linguistic relativity/determinism says that language either affects or limits how we conceptualize the world. So, does that mean a Spanish speaker has a different conceptualization of the world than an English speaker? Or, that someone with a large vocabulary has a different view of the world than someone with a small vocabulary? So what do you think? Argue in support or in opposition of linguistic relativity. 4) There has been a distinct rise in the prevalence of hearing impairment among adolescents (age 12-19) over the past two decades. Shardorodsky, et al (2010) reported that the prevalence of any hearing loss among adolescents rose from 14.9% to 19.5% of the population between 1994 and 2005. Keep in mind, that 4.6% increase constitutes 16,100,000 more adolescents with hearing loss than there would have been if the percentage hadnt changed! What might be the cause(s) of the increased prevalence of hearing impairment, and suggest possible solutions to this problem. 5) Does Extrasensory Perception (ESP) exist? ESP is defined as perception that involves awareness of information about events external to the self not gained through the recognized physical senses and not deducible from previous experience. It is the ability claimed by psychics, who might further specificy that their ability is telepathy, clairvoyance, or precognition. Here are some questions to promote discussion:If ESP is knowledge that is not gained through the senses, then through what is it gained? Is it possible that there are energies and sensory receptors that scientists have not yet discovered that might account for ESP? What experimental methods are used, or could be used, to test whether ESP exists? If ESP does not exist, how can we explain the evidence which appears to support ESP? 6) Memories that involve an odor tend to evoke stronger emotional responses than events that do not involve an odor. What Id like for us to do in this discussion for each of us to think of a time that you recalled an odor-related memory. It may have been that you smelled something that reminded you of the memory, or that in remembering the event you also recalled the odor. Then, please share that experience with us. That is, try to share the experience of remembering. To do so, you may need to share some details about the event that you remembered, but try to keep that from being the focus.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:53:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015