Psyc 301 | PSYC 301 | University of Maryland College Park

Discussion 3 – How the Brain Constructs the Perceptual World

Step 1: Watch the following video: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/that-dress-isnt-blue-or-gold-because-color-doesnt-exist

Step 2: Review the published evidence:

https://www.maxplanckflorida.org/fitzpatricklab/homunculus/science/ 

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/humans_version_3.0/  

https://www.bigquestionsonline.com/2017/09/06/perception-controlled-hallucination/ 

All 3 audio clips are the same sentences: “It was a funny thing. The children were going to the park.”  Recorded with, without, then with sine-wave garbling.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2131864-our-brains-prefer-invented-visual-information-to-the-real-thing/

Step 3: Address the following questions in discussion in one paragraph for each of the three question items:

Questions

1. Look closely at the rainbow (visual spectrum) at the top of this week’s guide and ask yourself if any colors are missing. When you find a missing color, present a description or an illustration that shows the color. If you can explain why the color is absent from the spectrum, do so in a paragraph.

2.  Judging from the resources in Steps 1 and 2, can we believe our senses? Where do individual differences seem to arise in the way we perceive the world?

3. Describe the combined roles of vision and the vestibular apparatus in a coordinated act in sports, such as a second baseman’s double play, a pole vault, or a turnaround jump shot. What are the differences and similarities in the roles of the two senses?