Amnesia Essays - Cognitive Science, Memory, Neuropsychology

Amnesia Our brains are constantly at work processing and retrieving information. However, we become frustrated when we cannot readily retrieve information that we have stored in our brains. The inability to remember can occur for a number of reasons that range from simple forgetting to phenomena like Infantile Amnesia. Infantile Amnesia is described as an adult`s inability to remember events before the age of two or three. This phenomena has proven difficult to test because your memory is in a constant state of reconstruction, (Rupp, 1998, p. 171). That is your memories are influenced by past events, and current perceptions about yourself. Therefore, you may remember events only in a way that it is congruent with your current perceptions of yourself, and current relationships. Rupp illustrated this: Grown children who clash with their parents may find memories of childhood plastered over with new impressions the past becomes gloomier and more dismal; recollections of past injustices loom large. (Rupp, 1998, p.172) Hindsight bias is also a factor in both adult and childhood memories. Hindsight bias occurs when our memory of how certain we were about the accuracy of an event is altered. If an event is recounted that is similar to the memory that we have we tend to become more confident remembering events in a much more positive light. If our memory is found to be false, we quickly remember ourselves as being cautiously doubtful about the event in the first place. Therefore, it is clear that our memories are quite susceptible to error. Sigmund Freud, father of the psychoanalytic school of thought had a different interpretation. Freud contended that it was necessary to repress early childhood memories. This necessity stemmed out of the need to repress anxiety-producing sexual and aggressive memories related to a child`s parent or parents. Freud thought that repression of these memories was essential to developing a healthy sex life as an adult. Though Freud`s theories are widely accepted increasingly, contemporary psychologists are veering away from this theory. Memory is defined as the process by which information is encoded, stored and retrieved. This process is central to learning and thinking. There are three types of memory storage systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Sensory memory is the initial storage of information that may last for only an instant. Short-term memory holds information for 15 to 25 seconds. Long-term memory occurs when we store information permanently. Therefore, many of our memories about our childhood are stored there. It is not that newborns are incapable of remembering things but the way that they remember. The brains of newborns are, predisposed to retain certain kinds of information often information related to survival and mastering the environment. (Sroufe, Cooper and Dehart, 1996). In addition, babies are only able to store fewer pieces of information about events and experiences. At this early stage in life, they are unable to organize and store information in a manner that would allow them to retrieve it readily later in life. Piaget believed that, babies memories are sensory motor in nature not true representations. (Sroufe, Cooper and Dehart, 1996). Psychologists have continually tried to find methods to understand the phenomena of infantile amnesia. Studies have been conducted using the birth of a sibling as a reference point for discerning exactly what people can remember from that period. College students and children aged four, six, eight and twelve were asked to recall the birth of a sibling when they were between the ages three and eleven. Researchers asked question like Who took care of you while your mother was in the hospital? Did the baby receive presents? Did you receive presents? Then their mothers were asked the same questions. The study found that children who were under the age of three at the time of the birth remember virtually nothing. The inability to remember events in early childhood is not necessarily a bad thing. Actually, it may be useful particularly for people who have suffered severe trauma during their childhood. It prevents them from reliving these traumatic events, and causing undue anxiety that may impair their adult lives. While I am not in complete agreement with Freud theory on infantile amnesia, I believe that it may serve its own purpose. Bibliography Baddeley, A. (1993). Your Memory, A User`s Guide. United Kingdom: Prion Myers, R. (1994). Exploring Social Psychology. United States of America: McGraw-Hill Rupp, R. (1998). How We Remember and Why We Forget. New York: Three Rivers Press Sroufe, Cooper & Dehart (1996). Child Development: Its Nature and Course. New York: McGraw-Hill

Electric Guitar vs. Acoustic Guitar Essay Essays

Electric Guitar vs. Acoustic Guitar Essay Essays Electric Guitar vs. Acoustic Guitar Essay Paper Electric Guitar vs. Acoustic Guitar Essay Paper Acoustic guitar is type of guitar that uses acoustic method in projecting its sound. This sort of guitar is hollow and has a sound hole on its surface and largely they have six strings. They were most common in common people dances and laid-back vocals but their use has of tardily extended to blues and state music. Acoustic guitars are different from electric guitars in that the latter has more whistlings and bells than the former. In electric guitar. an amplifier is needed to project its sound whereas in acoustic guitars. merely a sound hole is needed in other words ; electric guitar requires electric power to play while acoustic guitar merely requires a sound hole. How do the two types of guitars compare and differ? This is what this research paper will chiefly concentrate on. Electric guitars harmonizing to Waring ( 2001 ; 112 ) were originally used in playing stone music but the first one to be used was in 1930 by a wind guitar player. Unlike in other merchandises where it is clear who invented them. in musical instruments is a bit different because it is non known who invented many of them but there are those who claim to be the one like Gibson who claims to hold invented an electric guitar. Most acoustic guitars have six strings but an electric 1 could hold even 12 strings. Unlike in an electric guitar where pickups that are connected to an amplifier are used to project the sound. it is different when it comes to acoustic guitar as where it the sound hole that is used to project the sound. Contrary to the electric guitar. ( Roth Arlen. 2002 ; 78 ) acoustic guitar is more complex both in its expression and in playing but one time you get used. it becomes an easy and gratifying thing. An electric guitar requires pickups to change over quivers that are made by the chords into an electric current. One of the advantages of utilizing this type of guitar is that the musical signals that are produced when one plays it could be altered electronically with some guitar effects such as deformation and reverb to accommodate your demands unlike in acoustic guitar where you have no pick apart from basking the preset sound which can non be altered electronically. ( Roth Arlen. 2002 ; 90 ) Whenever one intends to purchase a guitar. there are assorted factors that one should see but the most of import of these factors is whether you would be comfy with the sort of guitar you are meaning to purchase and the sort of music you want to play. The two types of guitars are used for playing music and are played with custodies nevertheless they differ in assorted ways. An electric guitar is much easier to play than acoustic and this is due to the manner it is designed. Electric guitar has strings that are near the stews thereby doing it easier to force the strings down without striving piece in acoustic guitar. you have to force the wires harder to the sound hole so that the produced sound would be amplified by the resonating chamber. In electric guitar there are pickups and an amplifier whose work is to better the quality of sound. ( Millard A. J. 2002 ) When it comes to comparing the size of the two guitars harmonizing to String Letter Publishing. ( 2000. 52 ) decidedly one finds that an electric guitar is smaller than acoustic guitar. This is because the latter requires heavier gauge strings that are used in doing quivers from its wooden top whereas an electric guitar has thinner wires and does non necessitate a broad top to do quivers as there are pickups that take the sound to the amplifier. The cervix of an electric guitar is besides thinner than that of the acoustic and for this ground. it is much easier to play an electric guitar because its design allows one to wrap custodies around it and allows one to place fingers in a manner that facilitates playing. Again when it comes to playing. one finds that an electric guitar is much easier toplay that the other 1. This is because the thin wires of an electric guitar do non necessitate to be pushed down harder than in acoustic guitar evidently novitiates who play acoustic guitar find themselves acquiring sores on their fingers unlike in electric 1s. An electric guitar could be played in different positions because you can keep it in many ways provided you are comfy but in acoustic you have no picks because the guitar is large. heavy and its high-strung organic structure makes it uncomfortable to play. When it comes to the monetary value of purchasing these guitars. their monetary value greatly differ in that an electric guitar costs twice the sum that acoustic guitar costs. The large difference in monetary value is because an electric guitar requires other appliances such as pickups. buttons and an amplifier that needs an excess sum of money but an acoustic guitar does non necessitate them. Therefore. if you don’t have a batch of money and you still want to play some music on your guitar so acoustic guitar is the best. ( Arlen R. . 2002. 98 ) Apart organize the monetary value. there are those who find electronic guitar to be confounding than acoustic guitar. They say that in the former you have to get the hang how to play its many buttons and bosss but the good thing about it is that you can non acquire sores on your fingers. Harmonizing to Cross ( 2008 ) . the two guitars play different functions in music because an electric guitar is largely used to play chords and guitar leads while acoustic guitar is used in thruming musical chords to many vocals. When people are make up ones minding what sort of a guitar they should purchase. they should non be guided by the form of the guitar but by the type of music that one intends to play for illustration. if you want to play stone music so the best pick is an electric guitar but if you want to thrum your favourite vocal you can travel for the acoustic guitar. ( Millard A. J. 2004. 34-38 ) Both the guitars are portable but one is more dependable than the other. If you want to travel bivouacing so acoustic guitar is the guitar you need. This is because an electric guitar requires electric power to play it but the other one don’t. You can merely transport your electric guitar if an lone if you are certain where you are traveling there is electric power because its amplifier can non work if there is no power. Another country where the two differ as per Roth Arlen ( 2002 ) is when it comes to the quality of the sound produced. Electric guitar produces better sound than acoustic. This is because electric guitars have adjustable pedals. cringle Stationss and buttons that improve the quality of the sound produced. Another good thing about this guitar is that you can maintain up with the times without purchasing a new guitar because its appliances can be replaced with more sophisticated 1s. ( Stringing Letter Publishing. 2000. 59 ) Acoustic merely like eclectic guitars come in different designs for illustration there are steel strings. classical guitar which has nylon strings and the lap steel guitar and in electric 1s we have acoustic electric that is modified with pickups alternatively of utilizing an excess mike. excavate bodied. solid bodied and another 1 with a metal organic structure. The two guitars have more differences than what they have in common. We have seen that an electric guitar is better than the other one but one should non be misled by the expressions of the guitar in fact it is the type of music you want to play and the ground for playing it should be the usher on the sort of guitar you need for illustration. if you want to entertain many people so an electric guitar is the best. An electric guitar is smaller than acoustic guitar but the latter is more portable than an electric guitar because it does non necessitate any electrical power. Plants Cited. Cross Dan. Electric vs. Acoustic Guitar. 2008. Accessed online at hypertext transfer protocol: //guitar. about. com/od/commonbeginnerquestions/a/rec_guitars. htm Millard A. J. The Electric Guitar: A History of an American Icon. JHU Press. 2004. Roth Arlen. Complete Acoustic Guitar: Complete Acoustic Guitar. Music Gross saless Group. 2002 Stringing Letter Publishing. Acoustic Guitar Owner’s Manual: The Complete Guide. Hal Leonard. 2000 Waring D. and Thomas D. R. Make Your Own Electric Guitar and Bass. Sterling Printing Company. 2001

Evolution Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evolution - Lab Report Example The major tool used in this biological experiment was a specially programmed computer application (automated) that enables adjustment of variables from default figures and when run, accurate results on the changes that has occurred in the biological structures of living organisms were shown. These results are therefore used to justify the hypothesis. In the first experiment, when the independent variable (precipitation) is adjusted to higher levels, the birds evolve smaller beaks. This is because when precipitation is high then the seeds become softer and the birds slowly adjust to the changes of nature until the fully adapt. On the other hand when precipitation is low, the seeds become harder and the need for additional force to crack the seeds arise and based similar principle; the birds evolve stronger and larger beaks over time (Sober, 2008). This adjustment may not favor some birds as the adaptation and evolution process is gradual and therefore may lead to death of individuals that are unable to adjust effectively to the changes of nature. Natural selection can influence variation of a trait in a population in three major forms namely; diversifying, directional and stabilizing forms (Sober, 2008). In the second experiment, it is clearly evident that changes in the environmental conditions favors the individuals with specific phenotypes. When important parameters that influence natural selection such as precipitation is manipulated (adjusted to 50cm/year and 0cm/year on Wallace Island and Darwin Island respectively), it is noted with great significance that only a few individuals are able to survive and continue reproducing in an environment with low precipitation. This is because of the variation in biological and environmental factors that are very significant for natural selection. Therefore for a period of 300 years, these changes will influence the evolution of Finch beaks and in turn affect their population. This fact can be justified by the graphs