PSYC 1504-01 Written Assignment Unit 3 PDF

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Written assignment unit 3...

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A Look Into Our Senses and Operant Conditioning Instructor: Mary Martin PSYC 1504-01 - AY2022 - T3 2/16/2022

Our senses are very complex and can often be underestimated. Our senses receive both information from the environment and from within us as well. They are not limited in the parameters from which we currently have set around them. Our current definition of sensation and our perspective of how we categorize our senses limits our abilities and sets boundaries around our striking potential.

I do not believe that there are senses that receive information only from the external environment. Information is stored throughout the body, within cells and in the brain. The body uses the information gathered from the environment, and from our experiences, and combines it with the stored information that has been interpreted and processed by the brain (State Government of Victoria, 2018). For example, let us look at nutrient deficiencies. Our body senses when we are deficient in a certain nutrient and it alerts our body in a way that stimulates certain sensations as a communication to us. It is our job to interpret these communications properly and then take action.

For many years, I have believed that we have more than the five senses that are more dominant in the scientific community. It is my belief that the five senses (taste, touch, hear, smell and sight) are only the basic foundation of a more complex system of sensations. According to Bradford (2017), we also have more-subtle senses, such as the sense of space, neuron sensors that sense movement, kinesthetic receptors that help us control our limbs and much more. There is also proprioception, which is often considered to be the ‘sixth sense’ of humans (Harrow International School Hong Kong, 2020). It gives us a sense of where we are in our environment and how our body is to be used at any given time (Harrow International School Hong Kong,

2020). The peripheral and central nervous system sends millions of signals using tiny sensors located throughout our entire body (Harrow International School Hong Kong, 2020). All of these things are happening unconsciously, without our knowledge or understanding. We are not controlling these communications at all.

I believe that the dominant scientific community rarely speaks about these senses because they are controlled by us directly. I can control what I see if I close my eyes. I can choose to touch things, or not to. I can hold my breath and choose not to smell. If I do not want to taste something I do not have to. I can even plug my ears if I do not want to hear. However, the other senses happen without our control. It is what keeps our body moving and helps us to be aware of our environment. The proprioceptive senses are more complex, so they don’t speak about it because we are less aware of what is happening. Most people will understand when someone asks if they smell something, but may not be able to explain it if someone asks them a question about how their body is processing information in their internal environment. With all of this discovered information, I truly believe that the definition of sensation should be expanded and improved. This is because it is more complex than we perceive. The current definition limits our senses to what we physically touch or based on arousal (Cambridge Dictionary, n.a.).

Operant conditioning can be used to enhance reading comprehension by using behavior to help individuals retain information and become more automated and stronger readers. Individuals can associate a reading experience with reinforcements and outcomes through repetition and comprehension. I believe many of our skills follow the same path of development, because most of us learned by first learning the association to what was good and bad. As

humans, we learn faster by associating things to the reinforcements and punishments attached to them.

References Bradford, A. (2017, October). The Five (and More) Senses). Retrieved on February 16, 2022, from https://www.livescience.com/60752-human-senses.html.

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.a.). Meaning of sensation in English. Retrieved on February 16, 2022, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/sensation.

Harrow International School Hong Kong. (2020, June). The Mysterious Sixth Sense of Humans: Proprioception. Retrieved on February 16, 2022, from https://issuu.com/harrowhongkong/docs/scientific_harrovian_issue_v_compressed/s/10674290.

State Government of Victoria. (2018, September). The senses working together. Retrieved on February 16, 2022, from https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/ discipline/science/continuum/Pages/sensesworking.aspx....