Assignment 1: Discussion Questions
By the due date, answer one of the discussion questions listed on the next page. Submit your responses to the appropriate Discussion Area on the next page. Start reviewing and responding to at least two of your classmates as early in the week as possible. You can ask technical questions or respond generally to the overall experience. Be sure to be honest, clear, and concise. Always use constructive language, even in criticism, to work toward the goal of positive progress.
Peer responses are due by the end of the week.
The discussion questions for this task include:
Every second of every day, your sensory systems convert one sort of energy into another. Label the senses and what they process. In the process of converting Energy to Neural Impulses, what three steps are basic to all of our sensory systems? What happens to the other senses when one of them is not functioning as it should?
Treating insomnia: Do you think that the combined strategies described in the text would help relieve insomnia? According to information provided in the text, how do they work? In other words, what is the principle that leads therapists to believe that these behavioral changes could affect insomnia? If you or someone you know suffers from insomnia, your feedback would be relevant.
What are eight harmful influences that can disrupt the development of an embryo or fetus? Define and discuss all of them. Then explain which of those eight harmful influences is the most dangerous and why (choose only one).
Pain tends to be a universal entity that afflicts many people in this world today. What affects one's pain level? Is it his/her endorphins, adrenaline, or both? Fear of the unknown? Is pain the same for everyone? How do doctors measure pain and what challenges are doctors up against when diagnosing sources or gauging a patient's report of pain? Apart from medications, what other coping mechanisms can an individual apply to decrease his/her pain levels?
Discuss at least three factors that affect how you perceive information learned through the senses. For example, you could discuss how your current mood, past experiences, and genetic make-up influence how you perceive information you receive through your vision. Conclude with a brief discussion of how you could avoid misperceiving information.
Can a person with vision in only one eye experience depth perception? Why or why not? Including information from your text, explain how depth perception occurs, how the brain processes visually received information, and what happens when information is visually misinterpreted.