Introduction to Psychology I

PART I

Psychological Dimensions of Vision

According to Feldman (2016), vision begins with light, which is the physical energy that stimulates the eye. Therefore, the first psychological dimension of vision is visible light. Bernstein et al. (2017) note that visible light refers to electromagnetic radiation that has wavelengths ranging from 400 to 750 nanometers. However, the wavelengths’ sizes would correspond to various kinds of energy.

The other psychological dimension of vision is light intensity, which refers to the amount of energy in the light that determines its brightness, according to Bernstein et al. (2017). The last dimension is the visual spectrum, which refers to the range of wavelengths that the human eye can detect (Feldman, 2016). The visible spectrum, which the human eye can see, entails the wavelengths that contain the rainbow colors ranging from the shortest wavelength of violet-blue to red as the longest wavelength. However, Feldman found that the visual spectrum in human beings compared to nonhumans is relatively restricted. For example, fish and some reptiles can sense energies that have longer wavelengths than humans can, and some insects are able to sense energies with shorter wavelengths than humans can.

PART II:

Definition of circadian rhythms and how the body’s “biological clock” works and what happens when it doesn’t

Circadian rhythms are biological processes that show entrainable and endogenous oscillation of close to 24 hours (El-Esawi, 2018). A circadian clock regulates the 24-hour rhythms, and these rhythms are extensively displayed in various organisms such as cyanobacteria, animals, fungi, and plants (El-Esawi, 2018).

The body’s biological clock is a clockwork process that is self-regulating and coordinates oxidative and reductive cycles in accordance with the solar cycle (El-Esawi, 2018). The biological clock gives control of the entire organism, including the cell and the organ system. The circadian clock aims to sustain the oscillations within a molecular level, enabling light-sensitive organisms to coordinate nutrient storage and be able to utilize it according to daily rest and activity. Since the biological clock may be influenced by darkness or night, the body of a human being may think that it is either time to wake up or time to sleep (El-Esawi, 2018). Therefore, the 24-hour biological clock can control the body’s functionalities, including the immune system, temperature, waking and sleeping, and other body functions like feeling hungry. When the body’s biological clock does not work, a human being may have trouble sleeping or waking up at night, or they may even be unable to sleep longer than they want to when morning comes (El-Esawi, 2018). This means that their overall sleep can be minimized, making one’s sleep of low quality, fragmented or shallower.

Sensation and Perception

Sensation refers to the processes through which human sense organs receive environmental information, whereas perception refers to the sense organs and the brain’s sorting out, interpreting, analyzing, and integrating stimuli (Feldman, 2016). The doctrine of specific nerve energies is applicable to perception in a manner that human beings can see with their brains and not with their eyes and can hear with their brains as opposed to their ears. This is based on the fact that the doctrine stipulates that humans directly perceive the activity of their nerves in the first instance, as opposed to properties in the outside world (Isaac, 2019). Synesthesia refers to a condition where a single sense, such as hearing, is concurrently perceived as if by more or one additional sense, like sight (Harvey, 2013). A form of synaesthesia connects objects like people’s names, numbers, shapes, and letters with a sensory perception like flavor, color, and smell. From this notion, one can understand where and how the various sensory modalities interact within the brain, the way various sensory modalities can interact with no confusion- the binding issue- and how sensory perception develops (Harvey, 2013).

Classical Conditioning

The basic principles of classical conditioning include classical conditioning, neutral stimulus, unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response. According to Feldman (2016), classical conditioning alludes to a category of learning whereby a neutral stimulus comes to show a response following its pairing with a stimulus that brings about a response naturally. He adds that a neutral stimulus is a stimulus that does not bring about the response of interest before conditioning. On the other hand, the unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus that intrinsically results in a specific response without being learned (Feldman, 2016). When it comes to unconditioned response, the response is natural and does not need training, such as salivating because of the smell of food. A conditioned stimulus is a once-neutral stimulus that has been paired with the unconditioned stimulus to yield a response that was initially brought about only by the unconditioned stimulus. Lastly, conditioned response refers to that reaction after conditioning; it follows a former neutral stimulus, such as salivating after the bell has been rung. In the principle of extinction, conditioned responses could happen for some months or years; however, if the conditioned stimulus is presented over and over in the absence of an unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response may disappear and even weaken (Feldman, 2016). Following extinction, the conditioned response may be back spontaneously in a process called spontaneous recovery (Feldman, 2016). Moreover, high-order conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (Feldman, 2016). Stimulus generalization occurs when a stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus for the response; then, similar stimuli start producing related stimuli (Feldman, 2016).

Social Norms and Social Roles

According to Feldman (2016), social roles refer to expectations for humans who occupy a certain social position. For instance, people expect that a student’s role involves behaviors like studying and attending classes. Contrastingly, social norms refer to rules with the purpose of regulating life. Each of these two contributes to social rules differently. For example, culture, which defines how communities conduct themselves, can also dictate how the laws in the society are enforced or enacted, such as Islamic culture can dictate how women should be treated in the Sharia law. Additionally, social roles, such as a student’s role of studying or attending classes, can determine how the student would be rated in the overall competence.

References

Bernstein, D.A. et al. (2017). Psychology: Australia and New Zealand with Online Study Tools 12 Months. Albany: Cengage AU.

El-Esawi, M. A. (Ed.). (2018). Circadian Rhythm: Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms. London: BoD–Books on Demand.

Feldman, R. S. (2016). Essentials of understanding psychology, Twelfth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Harvey, J. P. (2013). Sensory perception: lessons from synesthesia: using synesthesia to inform the understanding of sensory perception. The Yale journal of biology and medicine, 86(2), 203.

Isaac, A. M. (2019). Realism without tears I: Müller’s doctrine of specific nerve Energies. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 78, 83-92.

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Introduction to Psychology I

S01 Introduction to Psychology I

Directions: Be sure to save an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English, spelling, and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be double‐spaced; refer to the “Format Requirementsʺ page for specific format requirements.

Part I: Describe the three psychological dimensions of vision.

For Part II of the written assignment, explain why the following course objectives are important to understanding psychology:

5. Define circadian rhythms and explain how the body’s “biological clock” works and what happens when it doesn’t.
6. Distinguish between the basic processes of sensation and perception, explain how the doctrine of specific nerve energies applies to perception, and discuss how synesthesia contributes to our understanding of sensory modalities.
7. Describe the basic principles of classical conditioning, including the extinction and recovery of a classically conditioned response, how higher-order conditioning takes place, and the process of stimulus generalization and discrimination.
8. Compare social norms and social roles, and note how each contributes to the social rules that govern a culture.

Please reference and include at least three scholarly articles within your response. The minimum word count should be 750 words. The overall response should be formatted according to APA style, with the total assignment between three to six pages, pages not including the title page and reference page.