Psychological research studies

Psychological research studies It was first believed, according to the empiricists view (e.g. Locke, 1939) that a newborn infants ability to perceive, developed solely through a process of learning via experience. These pinnacle underestimates could have existed due to the extremely difficult nature of assessing what one could consider inaccessible to direct measurements. Contemporary knowledge in this domain has proliferated markedly due to the development of inventive techniques used to measure infants perceptual abilities. These perceptual abilities are considered to form the basis for rapid learning and development (Mehler Dupoux, 1994) and therefore are considered not only fascinating, but of pronounced importance to the study of developmental psychology. This interest is reflected in the numerous methods (e.g. behavioural, psychophsiological, and methods that assess brain responses) applied to infer the abilities of infants to perceive. In the present paper, focus will be dedicated to exploring the various research methods and reference to psychological research studies will be made in order to place the various approaches into a relatable context. The preference method devised by Robert Frantz (1958) is a straightforward technique which involves presenting an infant with two or more stimuli simultaneously, and as the name implies, assessing which was attentionally or perceptually preferred (Houston-Price Nakai, 2004). Early research generally relied on an observer watching the infants face and measuring how long one of the stimuli was looked at; however, present-day research relies on objectively scoring video film of the infants face or recording eye fixation, thereby strengthening accuracy of results (Smith, Cowie Blades, 2007). A variation of this technique was used to evaluate infants responsiveness to pictorial depth cues, in which two objects were placed at equal distances away from the infant. A strong reaching preference was demonstrated under monocular viewing conditions for the object that seemed closer due to pictorial depth cues. As this effect ceased during binocular conditions it was deduced that infants percei ve distance from pictorial cues (Kavsek et al., 2009). Along with this illuminating realization, the preference method has enabled many other intriguing deductions regarding infants perceptual abilities. For example, infants prefer to fixate on emotionally significant (i.e. familiar) stimuli (Burnham Dodd, 1999) as well as visual stimuli that match auditory stimuli (Golinkoff et al., 1987). This matching effect was also investigated and verified by Jeffrey Pickens (1994) through the use of visual preference to one of two television monitors. This method therefore leads to two types of inference; whether discrimination occurred and the salience of the preferred stimuli to infants (Houston-Price Nakai, 2004). The most popular method for measuring infants perceptual abilities is the habituation method, which capitalizes on the simplest form of learning. This technique involves a system in which a repeated stimulus becomes so familiar that initially associated responses cease to occur (habituation). If a new stimulus is presented and can be distinguished from the previous, attention can be renewed (dishabituated) (Shaffer Kipp, 2007). This method is also referred to as the familiarization-novelty procedure as the infants terminated response indicates recognition of a previously experienced stimulus, whereas regained attention indicates a novel stimulus (Bertenthal Longo, 2002). As this method can be applied to a myriad of research questions, it has elicited numerous substantial discoveries. For example, evidence for perceptual colour categories in pre-linguistic infants was obtained through the classical experiment conducted by Bornstein, Kessen and Weisskopf (1976). After habituation to one stimuli (e.g. red1), more attention was focused onto a colour from what an adult would consider a different colour category (i.e. preferred yellow instead of red2), even though the wavelength of the two novel stimuli where equal (Franklin Davies, 2004). Mayo, Nawrot and Nawrot (2009) proved that dihabituation results (obtained through use of the initial stimulus with manipulated depth) can indicate that infants as young as 16 weeks of age may be sensitive to indisputable depth from motion parallax. Conditioning focuses on the postulation that infants will learn to carry out behaviours if they are reinforced, which allows infants control over their environment and reflects understanding of relationships within the world (Smith et al., 2007). For example, Bower (1965) conditioned infants to turn their heads to one side by rewarding them with an adult engaging them in a peek-a-boo game. Once this response was established, the infant only received the reward if the infant turned his/her head when a certain stimulus was present. Discrimination can thereby be detected and in this case, size constancy was observed, as conditioned responses were three times more probable to the same stimuli (i.e. a 30cm cube) regardless of fluctuating retinal image size than to different stimuli (i.e. a 90cm cube) . Kuhl (1983) found that infants are capable of categorizing speech sounds by adopting the conditioning method and using a battery operated toy as a visual reinforcer. High amplitude sucking takes advantage of the fact that infants have good motor control of their sucking behaviour and this fact can be used to determine discrimination as well as likes and dislikes of the infant in question (Werker, Shi, Desjardins, Pegg, Polka Patterson, 1998). The infant is given an adapted pacifier containing electrical circuitry, and once the infants baseline sucking rate is recorded, variations (i.e. harder or faster sucking) trip the circuit thereby activating the reward (e.g. tape recorder)(Shaffer Kipp, 2007). Siqueland and De Lucia (1969) used a projected light as a visual stimulus to condition infants sucking, with strength of sucking directly proportional to the brightness of the visual stimuli. They concluded that at 4 months this relationship could be learned. A habituation version of the high amplitude sucking procedure was used to determine that infants perceive speech in a categorized manner. This was evident by familiarization (habituation) to the first stimuli (e.g. /ba/), followed by an increased sucking rate (dishabituation) in response to a second, novel stimuli (e.g. /pa/), thereby indicating discrimination between the categories had occurred (Eimas et al., 1971). Unobservable responses can also be accessed through measuring evoked potentials and changes in heart rate. With regards to changes in heart rate, it is expected that if an infant is surprised or upset their heart rate will increase, decreasing when focusing or attending. These effects can thus be manipulated through the habituation method to determine discrimination (Smith et al., 2007). Evoked potentials are measured by use of electrodes placed in positions on the scalp that process the presented stimuli. If a stimuli is perceived, it is reflected by a pattern of brain waves (i.e. evoked potentials), with different stimuli producing different patterns of electrical activity (Shaffer Kipp, 2007). Discrimination can therefore be deduced. A study using evoked potentials proved that visual acuity and contrast sensitivity are poor in the neonate, but improve during the first year of life (Atkinson et al., 1974). There is no question regarding the tremendous impact of these experimental methods; however they are not without their limitations. The preference method is praised as it is easy to employ, has a wide scope of application and response demands are minimal, although results can be confounded by familiarization effects prior to the preference procedure (Houston-Price Nakai, 2004). Another issue appears if an infant fails to show preference between the stimuli, as it is unclear whether the infant failed to discriminate or if the stimuli where found equally interesting (Shaffer Kipp, 2007). These effects can to some extent be controlled for by the use of the habituation method, which exploits the familiarization effect. This is a well understood, versatile procedure which is suited to investigations across many age groups (Werker et al., 1998), although data of an individual infant cannot easily be examined and discrimination behaviour is therefore only described with reference to a gro up (Werker Lalonde, 1988). Another probable inadequacy of this method concerns the lack of motivation of infants to show discrimination from a familiar stimulus, due to novelty being the only reward (Werker et al., 1998). Conditioning methods can rectify these problems as they provide reward and are able to provide data on individual subjects and hence able to identify individual differences. This paradigm is also useful in studying developmental changes through implementing experiments at different ages (Werker et al., 1998). The high amplitude sucking method is advantageous as it can measure a newborns (only a few hours old) perceptual ability due to sucking being easily conditioned (Werker et al., 1998). Williams and Golenski (1979) identified the major limitation with this study being that there is often a high drop-out rate due to infants who are fussy or sleepy, which may result in skewed data. Neurological and autonomic understanding has undoubtedly developed from studies involving evoked potentials and heart rate fluctuations; although these studies do little in accessing what differences are significant to the individual infant. All the above discussed paradigms are beneficial in assessing infants perceptual abilities, each having both strengths and weaknesses. As the habituation-dishabituation method is the most popular method of assessing infants perceptual abilities, along with the fact that many methods may be considered a variation of this paradigm, one might be lead to the inference of its superiority. However, over the years the differences between the methods have diminished due to modern research methods encapsulating on positive aspects from the various paradigms (Houston-Price Nakai, 2004). Therefore, with regards to methods in assessing infants perceptual abilities, what seems of most importance is the link between the research question of interest and the appropriate method to answer that question. References: Atkinson, J., Braddick, O., Braddick, F. (1974). Acuity and contrast sensitivity of invant vision. Nature, 247, 403-404. Bornstein, M. H., Kessen, W., Weisskopf, S. (1976). Colour vision and hue categorization in young infants. Journal of experimental psychology: Human perception and performance, 1, 115-129. Bower, T.G.R. (1965). Stimulus variables determining space perception in infants. Science, 149, 88-9. Burnham, D., Dodd, B. (1999). Familiarity and novelty preferences in infants auditory-visual speech perception: problems, factors, and a solution. In C. Rovee-Collier, L. Lipsitt, H. Hayne (Ed.), Advances in Infancy Research, 12, (pp. 170-187). Ablex: Stamford. Eimas, P.D., Siqueland, E.R., Jusczyk, P., Vigorito, J. (1971). Speech perception in infants. Science, 171 (3968), 303-306. Franklin, A., Davies, I. R. L. (2004). New evidence for infant colour categories. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 22, 347-377. Frantz, R. (1958). Pattern vision in young infants. The Psychological Record, 8, 43-47. Golinkoff, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Cauley, K., Gordon, L. (1987). The eyes have it: lexical and syntactic comprehension in a new paradigm. Journal of Child Language, 14, 23-45. Houstin-Price, C., Nakai, S. (2004). Theory and Method in Developmental Research: Distinguishing novelty and familiarity effects in infant preference procedures. Infant and Child Development, 13, 341-348. Kavsek, M., Granrud, C. E., Yonas, A. (2009). Infants responsiveness to pictoral depth cues in preferential reaching studies: A meta-analysis. Infant behavior and development, 32, 245 -253. Kuhl, P.K. (1983). Perception of auditory equivalence classes for speech in early infancy. Infant behaviour and Development, 6 (2-3), 263-285. Locke, J. (1939). An essay concerning human understanding. In E. A. Burtt (Ed.), The English Philosophers from Bacon to Mill. New York: Modern Library Longo, M. R., Bertenthal, B.I. (2006). Common coding of observation and execution of action in 9-month-old infants. Infancy, 10 (1), 43-59. Mehler, J., Dupoux, E. (1994). What infants know. The New Cognitive Science of Early Development. Oxford:Blackwell. Nawrot, E., Mayo, S. L., Nawrot, M. (2009). The development of depth perception from motion parallax in infancy. Attention, Perception and Psychophysics, 71 (1), 194-199. Pickens, J. (1994). Perception of Auditory-Visual Distance Relations by 5-month-old infants.Developmental Psychology, 30 (4), 537-544. Shaffer, D. R., Kipp, K. (2007). Developmental Psychology: Childhood Adolescence (8th ed.). Belmont, USA: Nelson Education Ltd. Siqueland, E. R., De Lucia, C. A. (1969). Visual reinforcement of non-nutritive sucking in human infants. Science, 165, 1144-1146. Smith, P. K., Cowie, H., Blades, M. (2003). Understanding Childrens Development (4th ed.). Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing. Werker, J. F., Lalonde, C. E. (1988). Cross language perception: initial capabilities and developmental change. Developmental psychology. 24 (5): 672 683. Werker, J.F., Shi, R., Desjardins, R., Pegg, J. E., Polka, L., Patterson, M. (1998). Three Methods for testing infant speech perception. In A. Slater (Ed.), Perceptual Development: Visual, Auditory and Speech perception in infancy (pp. 389-418). Hove, UK: Psychology Press Ltd. Williams, L., Golenski, J. (1979). Infant Behavioural State and Speech Sound Discrimination. Child Development, 50, 1243-1246.

venus :: essays research papers

THE NATURE OF VENUS AND THE VENUS SIGN We're going to find out why some people cannot stand you yet others feel so powerfully attracted to you that they simply cannot resist your charm. And, as Venus rules art and music as much as she rules romance, we're going to explore your instinctive aesthetic preferences. We're going to look at both the shapes and colors that strike your fancy, plus the figures and faces that fill your fantasies. Venus is a planet for romantics. Her very name conjures up an image of mystery and sensuality, but she was a seductive symbol long before the Romans coined this name for her. The Babylonians called her Ishtar, Goddess of Fertility. The Sumerians knew her as Inanna, Queen of Thunder. To the Egyptians she was Isis the Enchantress, and to the Greeks Aphrodite, ultimate icon of feminine charm and the mother of Cupid. If you are a typical male, your Venus sign represents your ideal woman. Aphrodite wears many disguises. Today, you will see which she dons when she wants to capture your heart. If you are a woman, your Venus sign governs the kind of person you turn into when you exploit your feminine charm. I have to confess, though, that when reading romantic preference in a horoscope, all astrologers find female psychology more complicated. Aphrodite was the ultimate free woman. She belonged to no man yet she awakened a deep and profound spirit of desire in the heart of every man she encountered. She had passionate and fruitful romantic involvements with gods as diverse as the witty, intellectual Hermes, the silent, muscular Adonis and the pompous, powerful Zeus. Throughout all this she also had a tolerant husband: aloof and irritable Hephaestus, the wounded craftsman. Forget for a moment any judgement you might feel inclined to make about her character. We are dealing here with a symbolic goddess, not a real human being and we must view her in her proper context: as an icon of femininity. One day, I hope to write an entire book about her. For our purposes here, though, all we need to understand is that we are dealing with the image of a woman who is attractive to every type of man. A man's Venus sign tells us whether he is more likely to try and appeal to Aphrodite by acting like a Hermes, an Adonis, a Zeus or a Hephae stus.

Ancient Egyptian Art & Architecture Essay

Due to the scarcity of wood the two predominant building materials used in ancient Egypt were sun-baked mud bricks and stone, mainly limestone but also sandstone and granite in considerable quantities. From the Old Kingdom onward, stone was generally reserved for tombs and temples, while bricks were used even for royal palaces, fortresses, the walls of temple precincts and towns, and for subsidiary buildings in temple complexes. The core of the pyramids came from stone quarried in the area already while the limestone, now eroded away, that was used to face the pyramids came from the other side of the Nile River and had to be quarried, ferried across, and cut during the dry season before they could be pulled into place on the pyramid. Ancient Egyptian houses were made out of mud collected from the Nile river. It was placed in molds and left to dry in the hot sun to harden for use in construction. Many Egyptian towns have disappeared because they were situated near the cultivated area of the Nile Valley and were flooded as the river bed slowly rose during the millennia, or the mud bricks of which they were built were used by peasants as fertilizer. Others are inaccessible (unapproachable), new buildings having been erected on ancient ones. Fortunately, the dry, hot climate of Egypt preserved some mud brick structures. Examples include the village Deir al-Madinah, the Middle Kingdom town at Kahun, and the fortresses at Buhen and Mirgissa. Also, many temples and tombs have survived because they were built on high ground unaffected by the Nile flood and were constructed of stone. Thus, our understanding of ancient Egyptian architecture is based mainly on religious monuments, massive structures characterized by thick, sloping walls with few openings, possibly echoing a method of construction used to obtain stability in mud walls. In a similar manner, the incised and flatly modeled surface adornment (decoration) of the stone buildings may have derived from mud wall ornamentation. Although the use of the arch was developed during the fourth dynasty, all monumental buildings are post and lintel constructions, with flat roofs constructed of huge stone blocks supported by the external walls and the closely spaced columns. Exterior and interior walls, as well as the columns and piers (landing place) were covered with hieroglyphic and pictorial (symbolic) frescoes and carvings painted in brilliant colors. Many motifs (design) of Egyptian ornamentation are symbolic, such as the scarab or sacred beetle, the solar disk and the vulture. Other common motifs include palm leaves, the papyrus plant, and the buds and flowers of the lotus. Hieroglyphs were inscribed for decorative purposes as well as to record historic events or spells. In addition, these pictorial frescoes and carvings allow us to understand how the Ancient Egyptians lived, statuses, wars that were fought and their beliefs. This was especially true when exploring the tombs of Ancient Egyptian officials in recent years. Ancient Egyptian temples were aligned with astronomically significant events, such as solstices and equinoxes, requiring precise (accurate) measurements at the moment of the particular event. Measurements at the most significant temples may have been ceremonially undertaken by the Pharaoh himself. Art Forms: Ancient Egyptian art forms are characterized by regularity and detailed depiction of gods, human beings, heroic battles, and nature, and were intended to provide solace to the deceased in the afterlife. Egyptian art in all forms obeyed one law: the mode of representing Pharaohs, gods, man, nature and the environment. Ancient Egyptian art displays an extraordinarily vivid representation of the Ancient Egyptian’s socioeconomic status and belief systems. Architecture: Ancient Egyptian architects used sun-dried and kiln-baked bricks, fine sandstone, limestone and granite. Hieroglyphic and pictorial carvings in brilliant colors were abundantly used to decorate Egyptian structures. Papyrus: Papyrus is a plant. Papyrus was used by ancient Egyptians for writing and painting. Papyrus texts illustrate all dimensions of ancient Egyptian life and include literary, religious, historical and administrative documents. Pottery: Ancient Egyptians used steatite (some varieties were called soapstone). Different types of pottery items were deposited in tombs of the dead. Some such pottery items represented interior parts of the body, like the lungs, the liver and smaller intestines, which were removed before embalming (the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains). Sculpture: The ancient art of Egyptian sculpture evolved to represent the ancient Egyptian gods, Pharaohs, and the kings and queens, in physical form. Very strict conventions were followed while crafting statues: male statues were darker than the female ones; in seated statues, hands were required to be placed on knees and specific rules governed appearance of every Egyptian god. Egyptian Art Ancient Egyptian art is the painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts produced by the civilization in the lower Nile Valley from 5000 BC to 300 AD. Ancient Egyptian art reached a high level in painting and sculpture, and was both highly stylized and symbolic. Much of the surviving art comes from tombs and monuments and thus there is an emphasis on life after death and the preservation of knowledge of the past. The quality of observation and execution started at a high level and remained near that level throughout the 2nd and 3rd dynasty. Paintings: Egyptian painting is said to be one of the most unique and mysterious attributes of Egypt. Egyptian painting is not oil-based or fresco-based, it is tempura-based. All Egyptian reliefs were painted on a flat surface. Pigments were mostly mineral, chosen to withstand strong sunlight without fading. The binding medium used in painting remains unclear. After painting, a varnish or resin was usually applied as a protective coating. The paintings were often made with the intent of making a pleasant afterlife for the deceased. Some tomb paintings show activities that the deceased were involved in when they were alive and wished to carry on doing for eternity. Egyptian paintings are painted in such a way to show a profile view and a side view of the animal or person. Periods in Art: The Ancient Egyptian art style is known as Amarna art. It was characterized by a sense of movement and activity in images. Also, the human body is portrayed differently in Amarna style artwork than Egyptian art on the whole. Faces are still shown exclusively in profile.

The Rise of Europe - 853 Words

The Rise of Europe Contemporary world power, and the shift from the East to the West during what historian’s term, Medieval/Renaissance Europe, shifted the roles of two vastly different empires – the Ming and Ottoman. Even though we barely even touched on the Ming Empire, I feel like the significance of it, is far too grand to leave out in describing the rise of Europe. Both empires had different types of leadership and core goals – military and social. The Ming Empire was led by brilliant philosophical scholars, concerned not only with the external world but the development of the internal consciousness; the Ottoman based on a new monotheistic religion that stratified society, but also allowed numerous mathematical, scientific, and†¦show more content†¦Once trade routes were established, the merging of cultural values and ideas, including technology, changed the very face of the global balance of power. China, for instance, remained as isolated as possible, content to ma nage the strife and political bureaucracy from within. In the Middle East, the continual struggle over the Holy Land, and the subsequent gains and losses changed the very face of the Ottoman Empire, finally establishing a more individualized state system, often ruled by European colonialism, up to and through World War I (â€Å"Middle Ages Trade and Commerce†). If, however, we find that it was economics and the promise of wealth, the desire for goods and services, and the curiosity about technological advances and other social improvements, that drove Europe outward, it was the lack of active colonization that kept both the Ming and Ottoman Empires from perhaps realizing their true potential. Regardless of the public personification of discovering new lands for God and man, the very basis of expansion for Europe was, indeed, the promise of wealth. Works Cited Genet, J. , (1996). A History of Chinese Civilization. Cambridge University Press. Goodwin, J. (2003). Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. Picador Press. â€Å"Middle Ages Trade and Commerce.† (n.d.) in Middle Ages History. http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/middle-ages-history.htm Parry, J.H. (1982). The Age ofShow MoreRelatedThe Rise Of Democracy Throughout Europe Essay1947 Words   |  8 PagesThe Rise of Democracy in Europe The rise of democracy within Europe was vital to the importance of the individual, and was marked by a transition from the governing by one feudal lord, to the governing by an elected official. This transition brought change not only to humanistic thinking, but also enabled mankind to have basic human rights which improved life for the country’s citizens. 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