Course Text:

Goldstein, E. B. (2017). Sensation and Perception. 10th edition. California: Cengage.

Original Question:

By now you've probably noticed in your assigned readings that the study of sensation and perception focuses on things you may have experienced but never given any thought to--for example, the "Purkinje shift".

We don't think much about these phenomena because our world is full of them, and if we had to be conscious of every sensation and its accompanying perception that we ever experienced our brains would have little time for anything else (!) but research scientists have studied them in detail.

This leaves us with the question--do these interesting and sometimes odd things matter? The answer is yes, but why and how varies depending on the particular phenomenon. Because there are real-life phenomena associated with everything discussed in our readings and dialoguing about them can bring theory and fact to life, for the remainder of our forum assignments we will be doing the following:

In the initial forum post, please describe how one of the phenomena mentioned in the readings explains an everyday event that you have experienced or observed and then suggest how this phenomenon might have serious consequences (so first its everyday occurrence and impact and then ways in which it can have serious impact).

For the purpose of this assignment, we will define "serious impact" as something that has negative consequences to health and safety of the self or others rather than something that is inconvenient or embarrassing. Not being able to distinguish colors under certain light may lead to getting home after a shopping trip only to find out an outfit isn't the color you thought it was, which can be inconvenient and/or embarrassing. Not being able to distinguish colors under certain war zone conditions can be safety and life threatening.

Please be specific, thorough and concrete. Adding onto the end of a post a statement or two that something could be a problem is not sufficient. Additionally, saying you don't know of any negative consequences isn't permitted. Doing so will void your forum assignment points. You will need to explain how the phenomenon specifically has a negative impact. An example, described in Nicholas Wade's 2000

"The Natural History of Vision" is below (NOTE: Because this one has already been applied, you must select another). Unless discussing one of the more common disorders, like a lack of depth perception or hearing loss, please avoid "I think I have this" syndrome. This is something that medical students often fall prey to in the early years of medical school because they spend so much time studying human disorders, from the very common to the exceedingly rare.

Reply to the following response with 200 words minimum. (please make response as if having a conversation, respond directly to some of the statements in below post.)

Perceiving objects in our environment not only consists of acknowledging the physical properties, but it is equally important to identify what they can provide for us. J.J. Gibson's concept of affordances pertains to his ecological approach to perception. Goldstein (2017) explains that this concept can be described as the information that shows us how the objects in our environment can be used.

For instance, we might recognize an object as a basketball due to its shape, size, and color. Aside from this physical recognition, our guided information would possibility tell us that this object can be thrown. Affordances illustrate how perception and action can be associated together.

I can remember witnessing many of these occurrences as my young son started exploring more of his surroundings. I can recall taking him to our neighborhood park and walking with him towards the large playground. My son noticed one of the slides, and began pointing at it. We walked over to that specific slide, and I helped my son use the stairs to climb to the top. As my son stood at the top of the slide, he sat down slowly. He then pushed himself off, and began sliding down towards me.

It appeared that his perception of the slide included recognizing its physical properties first. The slide was positioned at an angle and consisted of a smooth surface. Next, he used this information to determine that this particular object was designed for sliding down to the bottom of the playground.

Affordances is a concept that is typically used in our everyday experiences. However, there can also be serious consequences in some unfortunate cases. Given that my experience included my young son, there are many other scenarios in which affordances can create safety concerns for young children. When there are handles featured on particular objects, it can be associated with the action of "picking up" or "holding". Two of these safety concerns include scissors and knives, which both have a handle of some sort.

It is very dangerous for children to be holding sharp items in their hands. Also, there can be a dangerous outcome for situations involving electrical plugs and sockets. The improper use of these objects can result in electrical shock.

One of the most reoccurring news stories I hear about involves children and guns. Similar to scissors and knives, guns have a handle as well. Since they also have a trigger, children can associate this with "pulling". Gun safety is a huge concern, and can be one of the many serious consequences involving affordances.

Goldstein, E.B. (2017) Sensation and Perception. 10th edition. California: Cengage.