<![CDATA[The Beckman Chronicle]]> <![CDATA[The Beckman Chronicle]]> /Portals/2/logos/__TFMF_uvxzeebq3lw5uzrtqkkdz12p_12b8620b-b1cb-466a-9da6-197255b5047f_0___Selected.jpg en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Fri, 24 May 2013 09:11:49 GMT 15 <![CDATA[Applying the Five Senses]]> By Maham Usman

Courtesy of Chelsea Solomita
Senior Evan Maclin studies one of the displays at the Psychology AP's sensation festival.

IRVINE- On Friday, February 12, Beckman's Psychology AP students put together a festival consisting of individual booths displaying interactive experiments regarding sensation and perception. The students created their own interactive, hands-on experiments and conducted tests that dealt with the five senses, depth perception, and optical illusions. To prepare for the event, students were given two weeks to make their separate displays. The end result resembled a science fair. Psychology teacher Mr. Bohn stated, “The goal of the fair was to have the students gain a better understanding of the concepts related to sensation and perception and how they impact the way we view the world.” Senior Ely Herrera ran a booth dealing with the absolute threshold of chocolate in milk. “The absolute threshold is the minimum amount needed to perceive something,” she explained. She started by giving the test subject a glass of plain milk and gradually adding in chocolate until the test subject was able to detect its presence. All the students had their own booths and everyone participated, constantly switching off so they could both run their own experiments and experience their classmates’ testing. Herrera commented, “It was fun and educational. There were a lot of creative ideas.” She continued, “It applied Psychology in ways you never would have thought it could be applied.” Another project by senior Christine Ma dealt with the senses of touch, smell, and taste. She tested whether or not participants could tell the difference between brownies made with coffee and ones without coffee. They had to rely on their senses to tell the difference, and her display explained the concepts behind it. Ma remarked, “It was really fun and easygoing.” Most of the projects dealt with the five senses, and, adding to the excitement, many students brought in food to pick up, see, or smell. This festival displayed the Psychology students' understanding of sensation and perception. All of Mr. Bohn's five periods were in attendance, and each project consisted of an interactive, responsive experiment. Applying the concepts learned in class and gaining a greater understanding of the material, the students were able to see their textbooks’ principles come to life. ]]> Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:25:28 GMT