Perceptions at a Party

Perceptions at a Party

Different sensations from the environment are processed through sensory receptors, such as the eyes, ears, nose, skin and mouth, which are then perceived and processed in the brain to be organized and interpreted (Huffman, 2007). For the party example, several sensations are being processed through our sensory receptors. When we arrive to the party, it is already dark outside, so when we enter the hosts' house, the amount of light within is very important. Luckily, the light is neither too bright nor too dim. Probably the first sensation our body would notice is smell. This rounds out our experience, perhaps because we have arrived hungry, and thankfully, the smell of delicious food is wafting through the air. If the house smelled unpleasant, such a cat litter box badly in need of scooping, our experience would be much less pleasant. What is also interesting about smell is that depending on if I were a man or a woman would depend on how well I could accurately gauge what I am smelling, as women tend to be more accurate and detailed with odor recognition (Weiten, 2005). So perhaps a woman would have better experience if the flowers were roses instead of gardenias, because for some reason gardenias remind her of funerals.

So now, we have addressed first impressions. Assuming now that I have put my coat away, and gone to get something to drink and munch on, and am sitting comfortably next to the fire on a lovely couch. Of course, my impressions of this part would be that it's going well, the environment is soothing and comfortable, and there is room enough for people to mingle in conversation. How would I feel if this were the opposite? There would most likely be no room to sit and eat my food because it would be too crowded to do so, I might not even notice the color scheme or hard work the host put into the decorations. Perhaps the music would be too loud, or not to my taste, which would make the party seem entirely uncomfortable or even annoying.

Hearing "results from movement of air molecules in a particular wave pattern," (Huffman, 2007) which can differ in wavelength (length, which determines highness or lowness), amplitude (height, which determines the intensity of the sound) and purity, which determines the timbre of the sound (Weiten, 2005). These molecules that make up jazz music, move through the air and enter the ear, which vibrate the eardrum creating oscillations in the inner ear bones, creating pressure waves that move through the cochlea, causing basilar membranes to oscillate stimulating the hair cells, which transform sound into neural impulses that are then sent to the brain (Weiten, 2005). After that, the brain decodes the sounds as what we know to be music. If hearing were removed, an important part of the party's atmosphere would be missing. However, since a close friend of mine happens to be deaf, she says sound is not missed!