Sensory Adaptation
1. As a Muslim woman I wear a headscarf, and due to the hours and hours that I have a scarf on my head, I sometimes forget it is even there! One day I came home, and since I was in my own home I could take off my scarf, however I continued wearing my scarf for hours. Finally, my mother asked, "Haneen, why are you still wearing your scarf?" I was confused for a second, until I touched my head and realized that I was, in fact, still wearing my scarf, and I didn't even realize it! This was due to the fact that I had been wearing my scarf for such a long time that my senses had adapted to the scarf being on my head. Also, the feel of the scarf on my head was unimportant, so my receptors were firing less, as there was no need …show more content…
The other day I was trying to take notes for one of my classes when my uncle decided to drop by. Usually my house is full of people, but this day it was only the kids and I so I had to sit with my uncle, as it would've been rude to leave him alone. He didn't mind me doing my homework so I continued taking notes while he talked to me, which was hard enough, as I was trying to understand what I was reading as well as respond to his comments at the same time. All of a sudden, my phone starts to ring, so I answer it to talk to my cousin, meanwhile, my uncle is still trying to carry on a conversation with me, as well as asking me to ask my cousin questions for him. I am now having two separate conversations, trying to read, and take comprehensive notes, all at the same time. Then, the doorbell begins ringing, not once, not twice, but multiple times, due to my younger cousin who had just gotten back from the doctors office. All of these incoming stimuli overwhelmed my senses, making me feel extremely anxious as well as on edge. Due to my inability to have selective attention, blocking out parts of the environment to focus on others, at that time, I couldn't have a decent conversation with either person, I couldn't understand my textbook, and could barely remember what I had written in my notes just minutes …show more content…
As a Palestinian, my family and I take trips to the homeland every few years. In 2015 we decided to go for a visit and on one of the days we decided to go to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a very busy city, so there are lots of noises, people, flashing lights, and other incoming stimuli that could easily overload one's sense. Once night fell in the city, the incoming stimuli increased tenfold; we were walking down the street when all of a sudden the crowd of people got very dense, to the point where we were pushed up against one another. The lights from all of the shops were blinding, and didn't allow us to see very far up ahead. All of a sudden, I heard beeping coming from behind me, alongside screams to move out of the way; as I turned back to see a large tractor trying to get down the street, I lost my family. Looking around didn't help as the sea of faces started to blend together. Amidst the bright lights, the large mass of people, the tractor's loud engine, and the sound of all the people talking and yelling I didn't even realize that only about two people separated my sister and me. This sensory overload caused me to experience inattentional blindness: because my senses were being plagued by so many different stimuli, I didn't even notice that my sister was so close to
1. As a Muslim woman I wear a headscarf, and due to the hours and hours that I have a scarf on my head, I sometimes forget it is even there! One day I came home, and since I was in my own home I could take off my scarf, however I continued wearing my scarf for hours. Finally, my mother asked, "Haneen, why are you still wearing your scarf?" I was confused for a second, until I touched my head and realized that I was, in fact, still wearing my scarf, and I didn't even realize it! This was due to the fact that I had been wearing my scarf for such a long time that my senses had adapted to the scarf being on my head. Also, the feel of the scarf on my head was unimportant, so my receptors were firing less, as there was no need …show more content…
The other day I was trying to take notes for one of my classes when my uncle decided to drop by. Usually my house is full of people, but this day it was only the kids and I so I had to sit with my uncle, as it would've been rude to leave him alone. He didn't mind me doing my homework so I continued taking notes while he talked to me, which was hard enough, as I was trying to understand what I was reading as well as respond to his comments at the same time. All of a sudden, my phone starts to ring, so I answer it to talk to my cousin, meanwhile, my uncle is still trying to carry on a conversation with me, as well as asking me to ask my cousin questions for him. I am now having two separate conversations, trying to read, and take comprehensive notes, all at the same time. Then, the doorbell begins ringing, not once, not twice, but multiple times, due to my younger cousin who had just gotten back from the doctors office. All of these incoming stimuli overwhelmed my senses, making me feel extremely anxious as well as on edge. Due to my inability to have selective attention, blocking out parts of the environment to focus on others, at that time, I couldn't have a decent conversation with either person, I couldn't understand my textbook, and could barely remember what I had written in my notes just minutes …show more content…
As a Palestinian, my family and I take trips to the homeland every few years. In 2015 we decided to go for a visit and on one of the days we decided to go to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a very busy city, so there are lots of noises, people, flashing lights, and other incoming stimuli that could easily overload one's sense. Once night fell in the city, the incoming stimuli increased tenfold; we were walking down the street when all of a sudden the crowd of people got very dense, to the point where we were pushed up against one another. The lights from all of the shops were blinding, and didn't allow us to see very far up ahead. All of a sudden, I heard beeping coming from behind me, alongside screams to move out of the way; as I turned back to see a large tractor trying to get down the street, I lost my family. Looking around didn't help as the sea of faces started to blend together. Amidst the bright lights, the large mass of people, the tractor's loud engine, and the sound of all the people talking and yelling I didn't even realize that only about two people separated my sister and me. This sensory overload caused me to experience inattentional blindness: because my senses were being plagued by so many different stimuli, I didn't even notice that my sister was so close to