Thursday, October 20, 2011

If a Tree Falls......Sensations and their "Sheisty"* Subjectivity

So, we find ourselves at the end of Sensation and Perception, enlightened perhaps, about what we think of as “real", questioning what we believe we “see”, “hear”, or “feel”… 

I’m hoping that you choose to take advantage of some of the resources I’ve put together to both help you review, explore further and perhaps amuse yourself. Because there are so many links, I've decided to break the posts into two pieces (gestalts???), check again tomorrow for an overview of pereception.


It seemed the hardest thing to wrap our minds around was the idea that our brain has no real access to the outside world. The idea that color itself is merely a sensation and that our photoreceptors are only sensitive to a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum tripped a lot of ya'll out, but doing a little animal comparison seems to drive home the subjectivity of all sensations. 

If you recall the auditory threshold demos we did in class, the fact that I am too "old" to hear certain frequencies that are obvious to you, should also help cement the idea that sensations are not absolute, objective or stable.

If you're interested in exploring diverse topics concerning smell and taste I highly recommend that you check out these really awesome olfaction and gustation pages.

Last but not least, the experience of pain. If you have any confusion about the Gate-Control Theory, this short paper does an excellent job of clearly explaining the idea in a way that you can apply personally to pain management. You may also want to check out this interview with psychologist Tom Rutledge (UCSD Psychiatry) in which he discusses the way physicians apply Gate-Control in patient treatment.

*Please see Ayanna Jones for an accurate definition of "sheisty"

19 comments:

  1. Reading this article, it was interesting. However, I am still confused about olfaction and gustation. Can you please go in depth with this explaining. On the other hand, the Gate Control Theory article really made me grasp the concept of what it means. Shiesty means you Ms. Rious. Me and Yanna will be ready to get you together tomorrow.
    Thanks,
    Im Rosa (:

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  2. All of these links enlightened me. I was especially interested in the olfaction. The fact that dogs can "smell" their baby's (or puppy's) emotions is really cool. I also learned that we develop instruments since we cannot detect certain stimuli, to enhance our senses. Well, I knew that. I just never thought of it that way. After watching the LOW BUDGET interview, I realized that pain really is a psychological condition. The person that was being interviewed even stated that when someone suffers from a medical condition they refer them to rehabilitation and other non medical related places so that the "gate" would become closed.

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  3. lmaooooo , oooo Mrs. Rious you play too much lady . i am outdone. i love you for that. i agree with Harvey , while i can grasp the concept of the Gate Control Theory , the olfaction mumbo jumbo slightly confuses me. like i dont understand whats really going on when it comes to that topic . what does smell have to do with memory or dreams ? its all kinda cofusing . :/

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  4. The stuff that was said in the Gate Control Theory paper was so true. Like, I was thinking about my experiences with pain and whatnot and I tried some of those things before and they really work...especially the thing about moving around when you're in pain. Anywho, pain is a mind thing. If you don't think about it, then you good. So yeah :)

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  5. The articles about olfaction were really interesting. One of the articles discussed how smell affected our dreams. Like, some people smelled roses while they were sleep and had good dreams while those who smelled rotten eggs had the opposite. Also, in another article, I read that smell plays a part in our emotions. That's really cool. Next time I'm mad.. I'll just take a sniff.

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  6. Reading this I kinda understand what's going on Ll the way but not fully. .. finding out tht color does not exist and tht it is a sensation really tripped my head out because how do we distinguish what name to affliate with one color? ??
    The creepiest article was the one of how smell affects our strand. .. how is tht even possible. I mean the article explained it by in my head its like noo this is not possible. Nd how could smell affect my emotions? I still dnt understand that. Confused

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  7. I found the olfaction article very interesting. Dogs having the ability to distinguish between the smell of non-identical twins is a pretty neat characteristic. Dogs can also sense fear in humans. Dogs are really awesome animals.

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  8. I didn't know that gamma-rays, X rays, radio waves,ect were at the same thing. I figured that since we detect them differently, and they show up in different situations that they were all different. Now since it has bern explained in the blog it makes more sense. Thanks:-)

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  9. Thanks to your article, I know that I am on the verge of being deaf. My hair cells are dying daily because of the loud music from my iPod. The Gate Way Theory is true because I've been injured and when I focused all my attention on my wound the pain increased ferociously. Now I have some ways to help close the pain gates like being optimistic and happy.

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  10. The gate theory is really true I had a lot of experince like the example that was given....the olfaction article was very interesting... Mrs.rious am I going deaf too?

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  11. The olfaction post is very interesting it says that one day old babies know different smells, it also say how toddlers know other kids in their age group and how mothers know their babies and vice versa, I think that is pretty cool .

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  12. I was looking at the Gate Control Theory piece, and it just blew my mind because I do the exact same things to try cope with and block pain.

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  13. I loved the links on the Gate Control Theory because I can relate to it. When I don't think about my pain I don't feel it as much but the minute I focus all my attention on how "hurt" I am I tend to endure a lot more pain. I think that is funny because us humans kind of put ourselves in more pain than we need psychologically if you think about it! I'm a G to this... I hurt the pain the pain don't hurt me !

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  14. The articles about olfaction were really interesting. Also the gate control theory, now I have some ways to help close the pain gates

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  15. In the short paper, i agree when it said that, the more you think about pain, the worse it feels.We can really make ourselves SICK if we wanted to. Thats crazy!!!

    I learned about some of the factors that open the gate the gate to pain (stress)
    and about what closes the gate (relaxation)

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  16. Im loving this link to The Gate Control Theory. I should use it if i decide to get a tat in the future. I just have to relax and not think about it. I thing my hair cells are dying too. My music be up to the maximum!

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  17. The short story helped me grasp the gate control theory.
    && its so true!.like im afraid of getting shots, I always think about the needle and how.much it will hurt,&& it does hurt.
    recently, when I took shots, I didnt think about it and.relaxed,
    && it. didnt hurt..

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  18. I enjoyed the articles and especially the shirt paper, this information helped very much. The Gate Control Theory link was enjoyable because I can relate. It's true ! When you don't think about the pain you don't feel it

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