Expectations, emotions and contexts influence our perception.?
It is true that all of these things influence our perception. Our expectations provide a limiting pretext that is static and incongruent with the fluidity and unlimited reality of any given time frame. Emotional energy flows into this structure we have created with our expectations thus re inforcing and bringing the pretexts to life in terms of impuning it with a false sense of realness. Our expectations also provide an emotional context and an emotionaly charged response when encountering anything incongruent to it's false sense of reality. There are many other possible emotional responses and each color our perceptive lens according to their nature. So we set the stage in a pychic way before we even find ourselves in the situation at which time we are unable to see the situation for what it truly is and judge it only in terms of that which is congruent and incongruent with ego identity. Could it be said that our expectations form the structure of ego identity? Could it be said that we don't actually percieve things as they really are but always according to the conditioning of our personalities. We not only perpetuate the false identity this way by reinforcing the conditioned paradigm, we also limit our perception to that which the strict conditions will allow us to see. We really see what we want to see in every sense of the statement. To realize that these mechanisms do have a direct and indirect effect on the functioning of perception is a massive inisight. To understand that all of these elements can be used or suspended or changed in service of our experience is most empowering. If you are truly seeing what you want to see, what you expect to see why do you choose to see things as you do? What is the point of seeing things the way we currently do? All of these elements are important for their own reasons and all can be used with intelligence as equaly as unintelligence. We can choose a deeper and richer understanding of perception and learn to see things not only differently but with an open mind and life becomes a wonderful mystery.
Are emotions just a state of mind? Are feelings just electrical pulses in the brain?
Emotions are electrical impulses in the brain firing off neurons and releasing chemicals. These things are passing. Yet, the emotional impact (probably relying on memories) carries with you. Just like someone said below sad is to "stab" would be like yellow is "banana." We may not feel the exact same thing but its close enough for our communication levels at the moment (maybe). I think the feeling is fleeting as the neurons fire and whatnot But the emotion can be a real thing held in memory (is that a state of mind?) and effects us.Otherwise why would feelings have any effect on your life at all? There are mental conditions (such as psychopathy) that majorly effect your feelings and emotions (and even your ability to feel them). Does this mean that feelings and emotions are real and can be damaged in the brain? Or does their lack of emotion show that their inability to feel is a state of mind because they never experience the feeling? I'd like to start off by saying that my question started as an answer to this person's fine question. Credit where credit is due & all. Help them out if you can : http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhZrDb3jK01JLzXFPuFMSLam5HNG;_ylv=3?qid=20100713135229AALFTN1
Classical and operant conditioning examples?
Demonstrate in pictures,graphs,diagrams, or anything how both classical and operant conditioning could be responsible for a child learning to love (or hate!) school.
How Do Emotions Shape Thinking?
Just how do emotions shape, and sometimes inhibit, our thinking? How can we harness the power and influence of emotion to promote intellectual character? God Bless