This scientific paper is the content of two chapters of books on sensation and perception, and learning. These two aspects are interconnected, as I help people to learn about the world around them and gain new knowledge. Therefore, the value of studying them is to gain critical knowledge that will help to gain a deeper understanding of how the world around us functions and how people perceive it through feelings and ideas.
The first chapter that was subjected to analysis in chapter six, “sensation and perception.” This section discusses the fundamental aspects of these two processes, visual and non-visual perception of the surrounding world. An interesting fact is that vision does not affect how people’s perception of the surrounding world is built. As an example, the authors cite a syndrome that disrupts the perception of faces, and a person, even with perfect vision, can confuse even relatives with strangers. This deviation occurs due to a malfunction of the area on the lower side of the brain’s right hemisphere (Myers & DeWall, 2021). It is responsible for the mental definition of a person’s familiar face. Thus, this ailment becomes proof of how vital sensation and perception are for individuals. With the help of these natural sensory abilities, people receive the necessary information. Other instances of such indicators are ears that catch sound frequencies, process human voices, or nose receptors that transmit odors surrounding a person.
In this chapter, the discussion begins by explaining how people feel and perceive the world. Then, research data is provided on the basic principles of these two concepts, which are also applicable to all sense organs. It is also noted that people should have an absolute threshold for a more effective process of designing perception processes. At the same time, it should also be low enough to ensure the difference between different objects, people, or sounds. Moreover, specialized stimuli contribute to the recognition process. They help to distinguish between aspects such as people’s voices, tonality, and volume of sound (Myers & DeWall, 2021). All these aspects have their threshold of difference, which is expressed in the minimum difference in the strength of incentives.
Another attractive section of this chapter is the discussion of extrasensory perception. Among them, the source distinguishes telepathy, which implies transmission through the mind, clairvoyance, and foresight. The second aspect is the perception of distant events, and the last is the perception of future events that have not yet occurred (Myers & DeWall, 2021). Moreover, psychokinesis can also be prescribed to these concepts as the ability to move things with the help of the mind.
The seventh chapter of the book under study begins with a story about the invention of a new teaching method. It was introduced by Skinner, who became known for shaping the behavior of rats and pigeons, encouraging their actions as the researcher achieved the desired goal. Thus, the book’s authors drew a parallel with the way people learn, which is based on their experience. The most crucial aspect that every person has from birth is the ability to adapt. Thus, it individuals are much easier to assimilate new information and can adapt to the world around them. Oprah Winfrey was cited as an example of adaptability (Myers & DeWall, 2021). Researchers focus on the fact that the woman grew up in a low-income family constantly faced racism and bias. In order to achieve a better life, the women began to take measures and learned to adapt to the conditions. Soon she became the most popular daytime talk show host in America.
The chapter emphasizes that everything that a person can learn, an individual can teach another. The knowledge gained in the process can be further expanded or interpreted. Learning is one of the central topics for research in psychology. It has a direct impact on how people form thoughts, speech, establishes motives and controls, and expresses emotions. The types of learning highlighted in this chapter are classical conditioning, operant conditioning, the influence of biology and cognition on learning and learning by observation (Myers & DeWall, 2021). All of them can make their own unique contribution to how a person remembers information. However, there are several main ways to study new information, and one of them is association. In this process, the mind naturally connects events that occur sequentially (Myers & DeWall, 2021). Further, the person already independently forms the learned connections. There is also classical and operant conditioning as learning methods. The first method implies an association between two events, and the second is based on causal relationships.
Thus, a vital part of learning something new is the ability to adapt to internal and external factors. With the help of this skill, a person can predict events within the framework of adequacy, for example, after what time the water in the pot will boil. Actions with subsequent rewards have a particular pleasure and effect. This increases the level of motivation to learn something new, especially at an early age. Another way of learning that people often use in the early stages of development is through observing people’s behavior.
Reference
Myers, D.G., & DeWall, C.N. (2021). Psychology 13th Edition. Worth Publishers.