Sensation and Perception Psychology Introduction Sensation and perception play different roles in how we understand our world. In this essay I will explain the difference between sensation and perception, describe the signal detection theory and sensory adaptation and the important role they play in psychology and how we make sense of what we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. Sensation and Perception Sensation is when our senses gather information and send it to our brain. A huge amount of information is being sensed at the same time such as taste, touch, sight, sound and smell. We take in all of this information in a way that our environment around us never gets recognized.
Discuss the development of perceptual abilities. Include examples from infant and cross cultural studies in your answer (8+16) The development of perceptual abilities is explained through whether the ability is innate, which would be nature, or whether they are learned, which would be nurture. Thus forming the nature vs nurture debate. There are 2 theories of perception: Gregory’s top down indirect theory and Gibson’s bottom up direct theory. The top down theory states that our mind generates expectations about what we are looking at and these expectations help us make sense of the mass information that reaches our eyes.
Cross-cultural psychologists are interested in the similarities and differences in all cultures. The study of cultures in thinking, feeling, and behavior is compared by research in cross-cultural psychology (Shiraev & Levy, 2010). Relationship Cross cultural psychology and cultural psychology are both dealing with individuals living in a culture. Cross-cultural psychology goes a little further and compares the behavior of individuals in cultures around the world. In cultural psychology the mental processes are compared with the society and the individual who has grown up in that society.
Can it be known completely? All of these are key questions for the epistemologist. The epistemologist has to assume that an object exists so they can study how knowledge of that object is acquired (Vasilachis de Gialdino, 2009). Not only is there a symbiotic relationship, but that relationship is an ordered relationship in that “ontology before epistemology” is necessary. Something must be before it can be understood.
Perception The Role Perception Plays in Decision Making Tracey Redmann Axia College of University of Phoenix Perception 2 What is perception? Before looking at the role perception plays in the decision making process one should have a clear understanding of what perception is. According to Oxford Reference Online Premium (2009), perception is: The faculty of acquiring sensory experience. Study of the processes by which we gather and interpret visual information is largely the province of social psychologists, who have identified several general principles (‘laws’) of perception, and also some effects upon it of (among other things) motivation and attention. The former includes the phenomenon of the ‘figure-ground contrast’; that is, how we perceive objects distinctly from their surroundings.
Following, it is the specific of intercultural communication barriers. First of all, assumption of similarities. The author points out that people tend to assume that we have enough similarities to communicate with each other, even with the people who come from totally different culture. But the reality is not in accordance with people's assumption. Thereby, people always ignore the differences that occur in the intercultural environment and occasions.
When it comes to our perception of the world it is all based on the information we receive from our senses and the way we interpret it. One way to concrete that our perception is our reality is to look at the phenomenon of hallucinations. One could argue that because humans can hallucinate in any kind of way we cannot believe our senses. However, one person cannot prove to another that they were hallucinating without also believing in their own senses. If we do not believe in our senses we then come to a continuous loop of what is “real”.
Is personality something that we are born with or is personality something that we learn or acquire as we develop? According to Santrock (2005), personality is defined as a “pattern of enduring, distinctive thoughts, emotions and behaviours that characterise the way an individual adapts to the world” (Santrock, 2005, p. 477). This definition does not offer whether personality is considered to be innate or learned? Is it conscious or unconscious? And what influence, if any, do external factors and the environment have in the development of an individual’s personality?
b) Ethnocenrtrism is often found within the formation and maintenance of RS of social psychology. The social exchange theory (SET) suggests that RS are formed if there are benefits of the relationship (RS) to both individuals and the RS is maintained if those benefits outweigh the costs.Theories such as these are based on studies done with american students, this causes SET to culturly bias as all other cultures are ignored with no account for RS formed in collectivist cultures where arranged marrage would not fit. Since then psychologists have tested such theories of RS cross culturaly to see if they are valid. Gergan (1980) showed little evidence to support such thories as even in european RS valued equality over equity. Moghadden stated that individualist RS are voulentery and teporary where as collectivist RS are obligatory and perminant, Therefore some theories such as SET are seen as ethnocentric, due to the fact some cultures behaviours are not taken into consideration as in some collectevist
CULTURAL EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOR Human behavior is affected both by genetic inheritance and by experience. The ways in which people develop are shaped by social experience and circumstances within the context of their inherited genetic potential. The scientific question is just how experience and hereditary potential interact in producing human behavior. Each person is born into a social and cultural setting—family, community, social class, language, religion—and eventually develops many social connections. The characteristics of a child's social setting affect how he or she learns to think and behave, by means of instruction, rewards and punishment, and example.