Telephone Activity – Sensation & Perception Unit
Indiana State Objectives:
Pre-activity set up:
The first row of students will be viewing a picture in a few minutes. They will study the picture, because they are going to explain the picture to the next row of students, while sitting on their hands (no nonverbal cues). For example they could say, “on the top right hand piece of the paper, draw a crescent moon. A crescent moon is not a full moon, but a thin moon …”
Then, the second row will turn around, and explain the picture to the third row behind them. The students will do this until the last row has drawn a picture. The picture used should have some complicated, and difficult to put into words. Play music in the classroom so that everyone does not hear each other’s descriptions. General rule: every person in the room will try to draw the picture after they have described it to the person behind them in their row.
<Give the first row one minute to look at the picture. They are not allowed to speak or discuss the picture with the others that are also viewing the picture. >
Post-activity discussion:
Naturally, the students in the back rows are going to have very different pictures than the people in the front rows. There are several points related to sensation and perception that can be made from this exercise:
1. The first row is somewhat like a sensory receptor, and must translate the message up to the brain (which is the back row).
2. There are times when our brain may totally misinterpret what our senses are telling us. For example, I could put my hand on the podium, without looking at the podium. I assume that the podium is holding my hand up, but that is just what I am inferring based on past experiences (the height and sensation of the podium). The sense of the podium goes through my hand, and up to my brain, which confirms that a podium has been sensed. But if I look down, and realize that my hand is on a stool, then my perception of what I was touching is inaccurate. Likewise, in the telephone game, our senses told our brains what to explain to the next student. Not always were our senses accurate. As we send messages to the brain, our preconceived knowledge interferes with our perception. Sensations do not equate perfect perception.
3. Even the students in the front row usually do not interpret the drawing exactly, and that their perceptions were different from each other. This could lead to a discussion of factors that may influence an individual’s perception.
Other misperception examples:
· Song lyrics
· Arguments (“I thought you said this”)