The Biology of Sense Perception

Selective attention v Inattention blindness


Selective attention: the process by which a person can selectively pick out some environmental factors to focus on from a mixture of other factors occurring simultaneously

Inattention Blindness: The process in which a person fails to notice an unexpected stimulus that is in their eyesight when other attention demanding tasks are being performed



A personal example I have regarding selective attention is earlier today when I was reading a book in a noisy room. I purposely focused all my attention on the book, and kept all the talking and noises in the room a lower volume in my head, sort of "tuning them out". I focused my attention on reading, but at the same time I could occasionally pick out parts of other conversations and heard my name when I was called.


An AOK related example dealing with inattention blindness in the arts. There have been multiple paintings done that show some main component that takes away all your attention. This could be a bright color, a very bold and large character, etc making you focus on that in particular. All your attention would go to this one spot on the painting, and therefor you may not even realize that in a corner of the painting there's something completely unexpected or strange, for example a pink giraffe. Since all your attention was focusing on the first thing you saw, the dramatic focus of the painting, you failed to notice the strange and unexpected giraffe clearly in the corner of the painting.

Imperfect Perception

                 

            Number of Dots                        Percentage Change

Trial 1         36                                                   n/a

Trial 2         39                                               .083333

Trial 3         37                                               .027777

Trial 4         39                                               .083333

Trial 5         38                                               .05555

I think I did pretty well, according to the website only about 8% of people who do the test and say how many they get, did better than I did. The first trial I did was my lowest, although not by much, which was to be expected. As I did the test more, I was able to react a little faster, which made my score go up a little bit. I think I used sense perception and reason by using my eyes to scan the block where the dots where showing up, and processing that in my brain to get the fastest reaction signal to my hands. I think that I had a bit of Signal-Detection Theory because occasionally I clicked a dot that I thought was there, but wasn't, because I was too busy trying to react as fast as possible and made mistakes that way.



7. 

Synethesia:
A neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway

8.
I experience different emotions when I listen to music. If some of the lyrics are really sad, or the song is directly linked in my mind to an event that experienced, I may feel extremely upset, angry, happy, or a combination. I also may use reason if I'm listening to a song I've never heard before, trying to make sense of the lyrics, or even language if the song has words I don't recognize, whether they be a different language or just slang words I've never heard.

Occasionally I may see a picture in my head that I relate to a song, but songs don't directly put images in my head or relate to colors.


11.

Word Set 1 time: 15.701 seconds

Word Set 2 time: 20.297 seconds


Difference: 4.596 seconds


12. 

The Stroop effect is the difference in the reaction time it takes you to say a color, for example "blue", if it is printed with blue ink, and the time it takes if a color, for example "red" is printed in green ink for you to name the color it is printed in. The time to name the color if the word and color do not correspond is longer than if they do correspond.


The interference of stimuli that is not related to what you are focusing on can be very significant. The excess information your brain is taking in makes it longer for you to process what should be a relatively simple task. Other stimuli slows your reaction and can interfere with your "knowing" because it takes time to be thorough and make sure you're only focusing on the important stimuli, and if you rush, it is much easier to make errors.

Knowledge Questions

1. Vegetative state patients use up the resources of hospitals, which some think is a waste because that money and time could be spent on other patients who have a much higher chance of recovery. Some patients stay in hospitals for weeks or months. The major overarching question is whether these patients should be removed from life support, to leave more room for other patients. Another question is who gets to decide whether the patient should be taken off life support. 

KI Questions

How should it be decided at what point a human life is worth artificially continuing?

How much authority should a human being be given over another human being's life?

Is it morally right for one human being's life be valued over another's?

2. Our presentation topic is the Role of Art in various Cultures.  The real life situation is that in different cultures, art plays a different role in their lives. In some cultures, art is predominate and done by everyone, while in others art  is judged more harshly and not everyone can create "good" art. 

KI Questions

To what extent can something be called art, considering all the different definitions within different cultures?

To what extent can art made in one culture be appreciated by someone in a different culture?

What types of information can be gained about a culture by analyzing their art?

Organizing Principles

Organizing Principle: Context

One remarkable example of context is the famous violinist, Joshua Bell, who agreed to perform classical pieces in a subway terminal. In this context, no one knew who he was, or that he was one of the best in the world. No one going by seemed to even notice him, yet some of those same people would pay money to see him at a concert. This shows how important context can be. 

I think a reoccurring example in my life of context is how I perceive tests while in high school. Out of context, each of them is extremely important currently in my life they are some of the most important things to focus on. However when given the context that I have my whole life ahead of me and many others tests coming in the future, they lose some of their importance. If I don't ace every single one, nothing horrible is going to happen. My grade could lower, but in the grand scheme of things, my life doesn't depend on it. When given the context of my whole life, tests lose their importance.