Sensation Lab

                                 Dr.  R.G. Tonks                            

        Psychology 110

I.  The primary activity this week is to examine your two-point threshold for touch sense.

Here you will use a two-point aesthesiometer to provide your partner with testing various body areas for sensitivity.  Working in pairs you will randomly alter the distance between points for a given body area (see below) for your partner to determine if it feels like one point or two points. Intersperse a single point in between two points at various distances to ensure that your partner is not just guessing. Record the point where it first feels like 2 points.

Also record your subjective experience for each area tested somewhere near to the two point threshold.

Once you have collected your data, find an average minimum distance to perceive the two-points for each body area for you and your partner.

II. Secondarily, you can also do a restricted sensation experience using the “blind” goggles and possibly ear plugs. With a partner take a guided walk around the floor or building and then report on the experience of being blind. For partners, be sure to exercise extreme caution in helping on this walk and watch out for tripping or falling hazards.

 When you return from the walking around the floor, take a kit of smells and a license plate to see if you can identify the smells and the letters.

As with other labs, write up your lab report for next class and be sure to look up an article related to sensation.