Formal Blog 7

I would explain that sensation is when you use your senses, such as sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Sensation is a mental process resulting from external stimulation. Perception is awareness. You will be aware of heat or cold. I believe that sensation and perception are very alike and work closely together.

I enjoyed learned about the eye and ear. I learned how many parts there are for each and what each part does. The eye consists of the pupil, lens, retina, iris, cornea, fovea, the optic nerve, and the blind spot. The pupil is what light passes through. The lens is located behind the pupil and focuses incoming light rays into an image on the retina. The retina is the light sensitive inner surface of the eye. The iris is the ring of muscle that adjusts light intake. This is the colored portion of the eye that you see. The fovea is the central focal point in the retina. The optic nerve is the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain. Your blind spot is the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye creating a blind spot. I also learned that the ear consists of many parts. I enjoy learning about how things work, so it was a great opportunity for me to learn about how the eye, hear, and brain all work together.

I read the article Best Optical Illusions Online. The writer of the article claimed how they had gotten into an arguement with another person about an illusion. The illusion was a woman going around in one direction, but then unexpectly goes the other direction. The writer talked to a women who believes that she cannot trust what she is seeing if her brain is going to lie to her. She believes that the illusion actually switched directions, but it didn't. The writer tried to explain that it was just an illusion and she was thinking about it too much, but she insisted that she was right. She questioned everything. She wondered about her eyes and what her brain was doing when it tried to make sense of everything. I thought it was interesting because it was a story and personal experience which always makes reading articles or papers alot easier. This article makes me wonder if some people do have problems where there brain will "lie" to them or if people can't understand the point of illusions.

Formal Blog 6

During the interview with my great-grandmother, I learned that her high school wasn't a whole lot different from ours. She completed subjects such as English, History, and even typing just like us, except she used a typewriter instead of a computer. It was also exciting to learn what they did for casual activities. She told me about how she attended dances, went rollerskating, and went to movies. I learned alot about the dance hall that she went to. This dance hall was located on top of a tavern located near Wausau. you could get to the hall through the tavern or up a flight of stairs on the outside of the building. The two separate entrances were for those who went to the tavern or those who weren't old enough to drink. She also mentioned that there was a rollerskating rink located in the back of a tavern. I am glad that I talked with her because it was great learning about past teenagers and what it was like for them growing up.

I wasn't able to access the video at home or at school but I can still describe my time as an adolescent. I was never top of the class nor the bottom and I may be an average student but that doesn't mean that I'm going to be average all of my life. I believe that your adolescence does impact your adulthood, but not entirely. I made the choice not to try early in my high school and a regret that alot. I could have been ranked alot higher in the class, but I never realized how important it actually was to work hard for a great future. However I can still be as successful, even if I'm not starting out as far ahead as some students. I can change, I consider my college a fresh start. I have a chance to show my intelligence to others. I will make the right choice for college and the rest of my future. I am going to be a successful person regardless of my choices in high school.

After reading chapter 4 I learned alot about genetics and how the environment impacts us. I was very interesting how separated twins often think alike. They have the same interests, names for pets, and sometimes even the same name. For example the story of Jim Lewis and Jim Springer was interesting to read about because they had the same name, same name for a child, same name for a dog, and the same interests. What makes this so extraordinary, was the fact that they had never met each other before this. I also liked reading about how we react differently to different things because of how and where we were raised. A teen raised in the city and in a rough neighborhood is more likely to commit crime than a teen raised in a proper, well kept environment. I found chapter 4 very interesting to read and learn about.

I learned about infants and young children after reading chapter 5. I learned how different an infant's brain and a child's brain work. I did not know that on the day you were born, you had most of the brain cells that you would ever have we couldn't use them because it was our nervous system that was immature. After we are born our nervous system eventually enables us to walk, talk, and remember things that happen around us. It was neat to learn about how infants are fascinated with mirror images because it is so true. As a baby know that I was fascinated with a mirror image of myself. I know this because my mom had taken a picture of me staring at myself. It was a cute picture. This was a very interesting chapter to read because learning about brain development is quite fascinating.

Formal Blog 5

I learned many new things after reading chapter 5. I learned that separated twins often have similar interests. I thought it was interesting how both Jim Lewis and Jim Springer had the same names for their son and dog. What makes this so strange was the fact that Jim and Jim had never met each other before the name taking had taken place. Both Jims named their son James Alan/Allan and their dog, Toy. In another case of twins, twins Lorraine and Levinia were driving to deliver Christmas presents to each other and ended up colliding.

I also learned that fraternal twins are different from identical twins, regarding DNA. Fraternal twins actually do not share the same DNA making them nonidentical, while identical twin do share the same DNA. Identical twins develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two. They are genetically identical. Fraternal twins develop from separate fertilized eggs. They share the same fetal environment, but they are no more identical than normal brothers and sisters, genetically speaking. I found out that the Olsen twins are not identical, but actually fraternal. Until reading this chapter I believed that the twins were identical. I believe that they look identical because they share the same hair cut, make up, and similar styles.

The final topic I found interesting was the topic of parents and early experiences. This section explained how experiences fill in the details in our brain's architecture. Mark Rosenzweig and David Krech raised rats alone, with-out playthings and with other rats, that live in an enriched environment. Rats that lived in the enriched environment had more cerebral cortex than those in the impoverished environment. In my opinion this experiment explains how children that are raised properly and socially active, will most likely be smarter and more active than those who were raised in an impoverished environment.

Formal Blog 4

I read the article What? Me biased?. In my opinion, the article is very true because, as Americans we do have an image of the average American in our heads. Usually it is a white person, not an Asian , Hispanic, or African American person. I think we feel this way because most people in America are white and that is what we are used to seeing everyday. It's true that people feel that racial differences make a person less American, just because they weren't the first to come to America and establish cities and because there are more whites than there are other races. Different races are out numbered so they appear as if they are foreign or less American. It's not always true, but that's just the way that some Americans see things. This affects me because if I put myself into their shoes, I would feel uncomfortable.

After reading this chapter I was surprised to find out how many different theories there were to dreaming. I always have wondered why I dream, but I never realized that there were so many possibilities of why I was dreaming. There is Freud's wish-fulfillment, Information-processing, Physiological function, activation-synthesis, and cognitive development. I guess that I assumed I dreamed because of the kind of day I had, but I didn't know that dreams may actually be making me smarted. I thought the dream section of chapter 3 was very interesting.

I agree with the Information-processing theory of dreaming because, I find it true for myself. I may being having a stressful week or day, and dream that I am trying to run from something. May dream may explain that I am stressed or worried about something and that I am trying to get away from that. Dreams are an interpretation or what is going on around us. Also dreams may fall under Freud's wish-fulfillment theory. I may desire something for a long time, and eventually dream about getting that or something similar to it. It is amazing how our minds and dreams work.