"John W. Kulig" wrote:
>
> Dani -
> Thanks for the tip. How quickly does adaptation occur with the fruity
> markers?
Adaptation occurred VERY quickly - I had them rank their perception of
the intensity 1-20 after each sniff (intensity didn't go down quickly
with the time for recording in between sniffs), but the aroma completely
disappeared by the 4th or 5th sniff when quick successive sniffs were
made. (Another TIP - do NOT try this exercise with dry erase markers -
I was feeling a little loopy after trying to find something that would
work - I'm happy to have found the fruity markers!!)
>Did you try adapting to one scent and then switching to another
> smell? The adaptation should be "stimulus specific" but I've never tried
> this.
After a few moments of discussion and no sniff, I *did* have them pair
up with a partner. They were told to "sniff to adaptation" (5-6 quick
successive whiffs) then QUICKLY change markers and whiff. 3 of the 30
students experienced cross-adaptation (smelled nothing), but the
remaining students easily smelled the new stimulus. Many of them
actually experienced a heightened intensity (facilitation) of the new
smell. So we discussed novelty, controlled conditions, properties of
the smells, etc...
I HAVE to mention that the best part of the class period was at the end
when we had an unexpected "educational opportunity." I started class by
handing out the markers, but asking them NOT to open and smell yet. I
lectured for about 10-15 minutes to lead up to the exercise. We had fun
with the activity, then talked about it and we moved on. At the end of
the hour and a half, I had them smell their marker again and rate the
intensity of the smell. Interestingly, it was lower than their first
rating. Their anticipation during the first 10-15 minutes of class,
staring at the marker, dying to open it because they hadn't had the
thrill of these markers in years, led to some serious anticipation -
that along with the novelty, increased the perception of the intensity.
A psychology moment that I took full advantage of!!
Cheers,
Dani'
-----------------------
Dani' K. Raap, Ph.D.
http://www.uaf.edu/psych/
Department of Psychology
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P.O. Box 756480
Fairbanks, AK 99775-6480
(907)474-6514
fax (907)474-5781
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
