That's right people. My three weeks of relaxing has started! Well, alright, to be honest I'm going to put in 4 hours a day during the week on school work and 2 hours on weekends. But I can do those 4 hours whenever I choose to. Which means that I can wake up whenever I choose to. Lovely feeling really.
Also, my mother is coming for a visit. It should be fun even though I have absolutely no idea what to do with her. Here's a little secret; Aberdeen is not the most exciting of places. I'm sure I'll figure out something before she gets here. Here's hoping the weather stays nice. It looked not so pleasant today, but it's be so nice up until now. Hopefully by the time Mother gets here the sun will return because the few places I know I should take her to are the beach, the park, and the gardens. You might note that they are all outdoor activities.
My other plan for this break is to post all of the back log of posts! I have started a post for every Psychology lecture I went to. Just never got around to finishing all of them. I shall hopefully get one up on Monday. As for the rest of today and tomorrow, I am fully taking a break.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Multisensory Perception
Finally have gotten around to getting a Perception lecture down on this site. It's not that I don't find them interesting, because I find them really interesting. I think they're so cool! But a lot of does go over my head without doing some in depth studying and I'm on the waiting list for the book for the course so...anyway, I'll try and put down something of interest right now while it's still fresh in my mind.
The topic for today's lecture:
Multisensory Perception
This was Dr.M's last lecture for the module. I have to say...she scares the bijeezus out of me. But it's clear that she knows what she's talking about.
Let's see...the brain adapts to its environment. Because it is so able to adapt to different situations it utilizes many different sensory systems to assess its surroundings. And most humans respond better when more than one sensory system is used. For example, we are better able to understand a small flicker in the corner of our eye if there is also auditory information about it coming in as well. But to use this the senses must be localised together in the same receptive field.
I'm going to do more reading on it so I might have some more information for you when I get the book in a couple of days, but there was a study that I was particularly interested in. It's called the Rubber Hand experiment. Basically, you're sat down at a table with a rubber hand. Your arm is positioned and then covered with a blanket to where it looks like your arm ends in that rubber hand. You hide your real hand behind a small board right next to the rubber hand and try and put it in the same position the rubber hand is in. The experimenter then simultaneously strokes your real hand and the rubber hand with a small brush. During this stroking your brain almost "adopts" the rubber hand as a part of its body. The key part of this study is that the experimenter must stroke each hand with the same speed and pressure. But isn't it cool how your brain can do that?
The topic for today's lecture:
Multisensory Perception
This was Dr.M's last lecture for the module. I have to say...she scares the bijeezus out of me. But it's clear that she knows what she's talking about.
Let's see...the brain adapts to its environment. Because it is so able to adapt to different situations it utilizes many different sensory systems to assess its surroundings. And most humans respond better when more than one sensory system is used. For example, we are better able to understand a small flicker in the corner of our eye if there is also auditory information about it coming in as well. But to use this the senses must be localised together in the same receptive field.
I'm going to do more reading on it so I might have some more information for you when I get the book in a couple of days, but there was a study that I was particularly interested in. It's called the Rubber Hand experiment. Basically, you're sat down at a table with a rubber hand. Your arm is positioned and then covered with a blanket to where it looks like your arm ends in that rubber hand. You hide your real hand behind a small board right next to the rubber hand and try and put it in the same position the rubber hand is in. The experimenter then simultaneously strokes your real hand and the rubber hand with a small brush. During this stroking your brain almost "adopts" the rubber hand as a part of its body. The key part of this study is that the experimenter must stroke each hand with the same speed and pressure. But isn't it cool how your brain can do that?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Work Psychology Week 5
I wasn't able to attend Tuesday's lecture on account of a doctor's appointment. Gosh, don't get me started on that appointment. OK, I'll tell you anyway before I jump into today's Psychology lecture (I'll be posting about Tuesday's lecture tomorrow when I would normally post about today's).
Right, so I've got a rather large and, frankly, ugly mole right in the center of my back. I've had it for as long as I can remember and when I hit puberty it raised. When I first noticed it raised I've had checked out every couple of years. At every appointment they've said that it's completely normal and to come back in a couple of years or if I notice any change. At one appointment they even said they needed to remove a different mole because it looked cancerous. Anyway, I've started catching this mole on bra straps and my fingers when I put lotion on and if I toss and turn in the middle of the night I will sometimes wake up with blood on my sleep shirt. So, in December I went to my GP and asked for it to be removed. They said that since it wasn't cancerous they couldn't make it a priority but they would make an appointment for me in a couple of months for the dermatology clinic and they would remove it. Made the appointment for this past Tuesday and went in expecting for them to remove it. I took off the whole day. I went in and spent 5 minutes in the office where they went, "Oh it's not cancerous." Yes! I know that! Grr...they said that they couldn't get an appointment for me for another five months and that it would be quicker for my GP to do it! ARGH! Annoyed.
Anyway...on to today's Psychology lecture:
Occupational stress is focused on stress due to the conditions of the workplace instead of personal stress. Personal stress can add to occupational stress, but it shouldn't be the absolute cause. It is the emplyer's job to monitor the workplace and watch over the employees. There were three key terms that we discussed today.
Stressors: the physical or psychological demands that are responded to
Strains: the responses to these stressors
Stress: psychological reaction when there is a perceived imbalance between the task demands and the individual's capabilities
It is important to note that this is only a perceived imbalance. There might not actually be an imbalance but the individual believes that there is one. It is all about how an individual perceives themself.
Some people are more resilient to occupational stress than others. There is research to suggest that it has to do with the specific person's personality.
I would like to say that I have more, but I haven't had a chance to read the chapter yet and the lecturer isn't the best out there. She tends to put a lot on the slide show that she doesn't go into and doesn't really talk about. And then she goes on random rants of nothing.
Right, so I've got a rather large and, frankly, ugly mole right in the center of my back. I've had it for as long as I can remember and when I hit puberty it raised. When I first noticed it raised I've had checked out every couple of years. At every appointment they've said that it's completely normal and to come back in a couple of years or if I notice any change. At one appointment they even said they needed to remove a different mole because it looked cancerous. Anyway, I've started catching this mole on bra straps and my fingers when I put lotion on and if I toss and turn in the middle of the night I will sometimes wake up with blood on my sleep shirt. So, in December I went to my GP and asked for it to be removed. They said that since it wasn't cancerous they couldn't make it a priority but they would make an appointment for me in a couple of months for the dermatology clinic and they would remove it. Made the appointment for this past Tuesday and went in expecting for them to remove it. I took off the whole day. I went in and spent 5 minutes in the office where they went, "Oh it's not cancerous." Yes! I know that! Grr...they said that they couldn't get an appointment for me for another five months and that it would be quicker for my GP to do it! ARGH! Annoyed.
Anyway...on to today's Psychology lecture:
Occupational Stress
Occupational stress is focused on stress due to the conditions of the workplace instead of personal stress. Personal stress can add to occupational stress, but it shouldn't be the absolute cause. It is the emplyer's job to monitor the workplace and watch over the employees. There were three key terms that we discussed today.
Stressors: the physical or psychological demands that are responded to
Strains: the responses to these stressors
Stress: psychological reaction when there is a perceived imbalance between the task demands and the individual's capabilities
It is important to note that this is only a perceived imbalance. There might not actually be an imbalance but the individual believes that there is one. It is all about how an individual perceives themself.
Some people are more resilient to occupational stress than others. There is research to suggest that it has to do with the specific person's personality.
I would like to say that I have more, but I haven't had a chance to read the chapter yet and the lecturer isn't the best out there. She tends to put a lot on the slide show that she doesn't go into and doesn't really talk about. And then she goes on random rants of nothing.
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