Task 52 - Sensation and perception is used everyday in psychology and

Task #5.2 - Sensation and perception is used everyday in psychology and every day in our daily lives. We use sensation in psychology to help

Requirements: As part of your response to this module, share how having an understanding of "sensation and perception" is helpful in our understanding of not only psychology but of everyday life itself. While you may use links other than the one provided below, you must cite information primarily from the "Human Senses" link.

Consider how "Pheromones" fit into any discussion of the human senses? You may have to conduct some independent research to address this question.

Task #5.3 - For this task I chose to write my reaction paper on stillbirths from the March of Dimes website. Unfortunately, it's not known what causes stillbirths but there are many resources offered to grieving parents to help them cope with the loss of their child. Some contributing factors that may cause stillbirths are infections, birth defects, problems with the umbilical cord, placenta abruption and preeclampsia.

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Tests are offered to try and find the cause of a stillbirth and to help with prevention of future stillbirths. Fortunately, many women can get pregnant again and have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby.

Stillbirths affect about 1 in 100 pregnancies every year and occur around the 20th week of pregnancy. "Placental problems cause about 24 in 100 stillbirths (24 percent). Problems with the umbilical cord include having a knot in the cord or the cord being pinched so that your baby doesn't get enough oxygen. Problems with the umbilical cord may lead to about 10 in 100 stillbirths (10 percent).

" (What causes stillbirth? - There are a few options a mother has for giving birth to their stillborn but often enough women can go into labor about 2 weeks after their baby dies in the womb. Mothers can choose to go into labor naturally, get induced or have a cesarean section(c-section). There are also many ways that parents can grieve and should be given time to do so. Parents are urged to grieve their loss in whatever way they deem fit. Some parents choose to name their baby, take pictures and even have their baby baptized. It's not easy losing a child and never will be. Support groups are available for parents to attend should they need support around the loss of their child to help them cope. "Having a stillbirth may make you at risk for postpartum depression (also called PPD). PPD is a kind of depression that some women get after having a baby." (How can you deal with feelings of grief after a stillbirth? -

In my findings on the March of Dimes website I learned a lot about some of the contributing factors of stillbirths, the educational information, coping methods and support offered to grieving families. It deeply saddens me that such a heart wrenching occurrence can take hold of an unborn baby without notice. I was touched when I learned that it is encouraged that parents take the time needed to grieve and as they deemed fit in the loss of their child. Knowing that there are so many outlets and avenues of support for mothers and families is heartening and comforting to know. I was so pleased to see how much empathy our society offers to help families cope through the loss of their child.

To conclude, the March of Dimes website offers educational material, support and coping methods on their website. The website discusses some of the contributing factors that cause stillbirths and the options of delivery. Mothers and families are encouraged to grieve as they deem fit and to seek help for postpartum depression.

Task #5.3a - In this task, students are instructed to review an educational video on Sensation and Perception. In the video it discusses how we utilize our sensory system and how humans perceive things when we gather information. A few highlights from the video mentions that human perception is very accurate and is our way of making contact with our environment. In addition, the video also discusses how the human sensory system works and how the human body measures sensory abilities.

The video Sensation and Perception explained that our bodies are wired with millions of specialized receptors throughout our ears, eyes, skin, nose, tongue, muscles, joints, digestive tract and more. Each receptor detects certain types of physical energy which is then formed into certain types of codes called neural impulses. These impulses are then sent to the brains cortex where it puts all the sensory information together, then acts upon it. Our visual information is processed in our occipital lobe which is in the rear part of our brain; body senses are stored in the parietal lobe. The temporal lobe stores information from smells and hearing while speech perception is stored in the frontal lobe of our brain.

As the video mentions, visual perception takes place in 3 areas of the brain, the retina, pathways through the brain and part of the cortex. David Hubel of Harvard University explains that there are 125 million rods and cones in each retina and a million fibers within the optic nerve. I find that very fascinating and an impressive amount. I was enlightened to know that the occipital, parietal, temporal and frontal lobe are all centers that project the results of their activity. I also found it quite striking that the cortex processes more abstract information and where new information is connected with old information in our memory

Another intriguing part of the video mentions a man named Misha Pavel of Stanford University and his studies of the successive stages of information processing. Misha Pavel uses computer graphics to demonstrate how the visual system breaks down visual stimulation. Misha explains that visual stimulation is broken down into millions of bits of information and recombines them into a coherent image that humans recognize.

The Sensation and Perception video does an excellent job informing viewers on how the brain computes size, distance, edges, boundaries, identifying figures and more. Our brain makes many perceptual decisions and often does it without any conscious awareness. Humans utilize two very different processes called bottom-up and top-down. Bottom-up process is where we start with bits of information and try to figure them out by putting them together in a pattern, kind of like a puzzle. Lastly, top-down adds what our brains already knows about a certain stimulation, what we remember about it, how it appears and how its labeled and classified.

To conclude, the Sensation and Perception video takes an in depth look at how the occipital, parietal, temporal and frontal lobe are used and perform, as well as how they are wired. The video also takes you in and shows viewers how perceptual vision works and the stages of how information is processed. Lastly, the video focuses on informing the viewer about perceptual decisions and how they work.

Task #5.5 - In the task, students are asked to take a test called The Big Five Personality Test and give scaled answers to the questions provided (scale of 1 to 5- Strongly agree to strongly disagree). The test consists of questions asking about the test takers personality traits to determine what type of personality they possess. The test also asks questions about whether the test taker is outgoing, compassionate, easily stressed, respectful, dominant and many other attributes pertaining to a person's personality type. After the test questions are answered the results are then generated and given to the test taker; allowing them to see what type of personality they possess. This test is based on pointing out the 5 major dimensions of human personality and uses an acronym system to explain the results of each test taker.

I believe this test is a fun way to take a deeper look into what type of a personality someone may possess and give some insights about the 5 dimensions that define the test takers personality. If someone wasn't sure about what type of personality they possessed and wanted to get an idea, this test would certainly help. I feel this test is fairly accurate based on my results, but I also have my uncertainties and doubts about online tests. The reason I am uncertain is because results for tests like these rely on truthful answers which helps generate concrete answers and results. I feel that many people lack in truth on tests like these for fear of judgment or because they don't like to admit to their quarks; even unpleasant tendencies. I understand that these tests analyze results and use them to help researchers have a better understanding about personalities and their characteristics; just as this one has done.

After taking The Big Five Project Personality Test I learned that I have an O.C.E.A.N personality. The O stands for open-mindedness, the C stands for conscientiousness, the E stands for Extraversion, the A stands for agreeableness, and the N stands for negative emotionality. More about my results claim that I enjoy having novel experiences and seeing things in new ways, are very well-organized and can be relied upon, are relatively social and enjoy the company of others, find it easy to express irritation with others, and aren't particularly nervous, nor calm. I had a bit of fun taking this test and enjoyed reading the results I got; they seem to fairly fitting in my opinion.

To conclude, this test consists of questions asking about the test takers personality traits to determine what type of personality they possess and do so by pointing out the 5 major dimensions of human personality and uses an acronym system to explain the results of each test taker. This test is a fun way to take a deeper look into what type of a personality someone may possess and give some insights about why the specific generated answers were chosen for the test taker.