Author: Leah Hummel

Observational learning also known as modeling is a part of the cognitive learning theory. Observational learning is the idea that humans and some animals, can learn by watching. How exactly does it work though? Well firstly, it involves mirror neurons in the brain, which are activated during observational learning and watching others. Mirror neurons are not able to distinguish between watching an action being done and doing the action yourself. This leads us to copy other people. As well, if we see something that someone else is doing and know what it is like, we can share that experience with them and therefore learn from the actions of others by seeing the outcomes. In addition to mirror neurons, there are also 4 elements that are needed to learn from observing. The first element is attention which means that the individual must notice the action. Then the individual must remember the action or experience they witnessed which is the element of memory. The person must be able to do the action, which is the element of imitation and lastly, they must have a desire to do so, which is motivation. Looking at the class example of the Bandura’s Doll Experiment we can see the 4 elements:

• Attention: The children watched and noticed the adults hitting the doll.
• Memory: The children remembered the actions of the adults.
• Imitation: the children were then given the chance to interact with the doll and hit the doll.
• Motivation: the children learned from the adults they were watching so because of this they were motivated to do repeat the action because they did not know if it was wrong or right.

Observational learning has both benefits and negative consequences. According to the Psychology textbook by Josh Wede, one of the benefits is that it allows animals and humans to learn without having to engage in potentially risky behaviour. This can help to increase survival. However, there are also consequences such as the correlation between children who grow up in violent families and be a victim of violence or a violent person later in life.

Observational learning has occurred in my life on many different occasions, one example is through watching my siblings. I have two older brothers and growing up I learned a lot of things by watching them. If they got hurt or if they got in trouble, I for the most part knew not to repeat what they did because I would suffer some sort of consequence. One example is when my brothers and I were much younger my parents did not want us swearing. If my brothers would swear my parents would threaten them with having soap put in their mouth to wash it out. I don’t remember them actually making my brothers “wash out” their mouths but I remember it was enough for me to notice how my brothers would apologize and try not to swear. I also would remember the incident because I would imagine it would be nasty for soap to be in one’s mouth, but also because it caused a strong reaction in my brothers, in the fact they actually listened. So, I quickly learned that there were certain words I was not supposed to use or repeat because seeing my brothers get in trouble and threatened with soap when I was little, left a lasting impression. By middle school no one really cared anymore, but my earlier experience is a good example of how observational learning can play out in everyday learning and life.

I choose to look at the concept of perceptual organization. Specifically, the idea of convergence perspective and linear perspective. Depth perception gives us the ability to judge distances and there are two types of cues involved. One type is binocular cues which uses both eyes to judge distances and perspectives. Convergence cues is categorized as a binocular cue since it involves the use of both eyes. Another cue used in depth perception is monocular cues which uses one eye. Linear perspective is categorized under monocular cues. These two types of cues have the potential to be easily confused as they both involve focusing on a point of convergence. However, these two cues are vastly different.

As mentioned above convergence is a binocular cue. When you use the convergence depth cue both of your eyes move together to focus on an object that is in close proximity. The further the distance of the object the farther apart your eyes are. According to the Psychology textbook by Professor Wede convergence cues are used on objects that are within 50 feet of us. An example of convergence that you can do is to try to look at the tip of your nose. You will be able to feel both of your eyes focusing on your nose. If you want to be able to experience the gradual process of your eyes converging place one finger at an arms width and focus your eyes on it as you slowly bring it closer to your nose and you should be able to notice your eyes slowly converging.

Linear perspective is the process in which parallel lines will converge at a certain distance. Much like convergence linear perspective also relies on a point where objects merge or meet. However, linear perspective is monocular rather than binocular. There are three main parts to this type of cue and those are the vanishing point, which is where the lines converge, creating depth (Blumberg). The horizon line where the vanish point lies and orthogonal’s also known as parallel lines (Blumberg). Linear perspective is often used in artwork as it allows for depth to be created on flat surfaces. The closer the parallel lines are to each other, or the more they converge the more distance the audience will perceive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took a lot of art courses when I was in high school. There was always at least on assignment every year where I would have to draw a city scape or have some point on the horizon converge in order to create depth. At that point it was not explained why this helped to create depth. My teachers would merely explain how to do it and then leave us to do it by ourselves. I had never stopped to consider, how this trick worked to convince my mind that there was distance, or if one or both my eyes were engaged. Now however, I know from Psych 100 that linear perspective only uses one eye even though both eyes are looking at the picture or point. If you were to close one eye you would still perceive depth while with convergence the object would no longer be centered.

References

Amey, K. (2015). 17 miles, 93 bends and breathtaking views of the Douro Valley: The world’s best road is in Portugal’s wine region. The Daily Mail. Retrieved from www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3052472/The-world-s-best-road-voted-Portugal-s-wine-region.html

Bermann, J. (1960). Surprise Landing [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/NYJAdc/ItemDetails.cfm?id=601%23navtop

Blumberg, N. (2016) Linear Perspective. In Encyclopaedia Britannica online. Retrieved from www.britannica.com/art/linear-perspective

 

The concept I choose to look at from the lectures was the topic of MRIs. Magnetic Resonance Imaging also known as an MRI, is one of the noninvasive ways to look at the brain and other soft tissues such as the lungs, and heart. The image of the brain created by an MRI allows doctors and scientist to see the brain, almost as if it were in real life. An MRI has excellent spatial resolution (millimeters) which means that the image is very clear and therefore the ability to localize the region where something is coming from is easy. In terms of looking at the brain, this makes the MRI machine very useful for detecting tumors and anomalies in the brain.

The MRI is different from an fMRI however. A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is used to study the cognitive activity in the brain. The fMRI works by studying oxygenized and deoxygenized hemoglobin since when you are thinking (using a certain region of the brain) it requires more oxygen. A large difference between the two machines is that the MRI is able to find abnormalities in the tissue of the brain whereas fMRI is able to spot abnormalities in the brain’s activity.

Here is an example of the images that the MRI produces of the brain, so that you are able to see clarity and images that it produces.

Understanding what an MRI is and what it is used for has helped me understand why my mom had to use an MRI when she was having severe headaches. Around 2 years ago my mom started having random headaches that caused her an immense amount of pain. The headaches were in her temporal lobe (behind her right ear). The doctors she was seeing were concerned that she was having an aneurism, so they decided to give her an MRI to look at her blood vessels. Luckily, they did not find anything in the MRI. Through learning about MRI’s in psychology 100, I now understand that they used an MRI because it was able to give them a realistic picture of the blood vessels in my mom’s brain because they are soft tissues and therefore will show up on an MRI. Also, since the MRI has a good spatial resolution it would be easy for the doctors to find the specific location if there was an aneurism in her brain.

 

References

Bansal, Devika. (2017). Genetics, Altered Brain Structure Off Window into Autism Severity. Retrieved from www.ucsf.edu/news/2017/08/407986/genetics-altered-brain-structure-offer-window-autism-severity.

Lam, P. (2018, July 24). What to know about MRI scans. Medical News Today. Retrieved from www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146309.php.