3.2 Consciousness of the body Phenomenological theorists distinguish between the subjective body (as lived and experienced) and the objective body (as observed and scientifically investigated). These are not two different bodies as such (phenomenologists pride themselves on overcoming dualisms!); rather they are different facets of our experience and consciousness. The body-subject, or subjective body, is the body-as-it-is-lived. I do not simply possess a body; I am my body (Merleau-Ponty, 1962
3.1 Lived experience Phenomenologists seek to describe people's lived experience, meanings and consciousness (i.e. the way we perceive, think and feel). They focus on how bodies are experienced at a subjective and intersubjective (relational) level. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), an early existential philosopher, insisted on the primacy of the body, and resisted mind–body dualism, arguing for the unity of mind (or soul) and body: 2.2 Body as ‘identity project’ In Western culture, television ‘makeover’ shows in which individuals opt for plastic surgery or are given advice on clothes, makeup, diet and exercise have gained considerable popular appeal. It seems that large numbers of people are buying into the idea that lives can be radically changed through such makeovers. Supposedly unattractive people who are unhappy with their lives are transformed into supposedly more beautiful and happy people leading satisfying lives. In reality, however, doe Learning outcomes By the end of this study unit you will be able to: demonstrate an understanding of fundamental aspects of the theory and methodology underpinning phenomenological psychology; critique simplistic mind–body, individual–social and agency–structure dualisms and appreciate how the body, self and society are interconnected; describe how phenomenological psychologists conceptualise the body. Introduction The body has traditionally been treated as a biological object in psychology. However, some psychologists believe there is more to our bodies than that as they recognise that it is through the body that we relate to other people and the world about us. This unit explores one particular theoretical perspective on embodiment: the phenomenological psychological perspective. This is an approach to psychology that acknowledges the social nature of embodiment, placing embodied experience centre sta Acknowledgements The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licencelicence. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: The content acknowledged below is Prop References Further reading Styles, E.A. (1997) The Psychology of Attention, Hove, Psychology Press. A very readable textbook, which covers and extends the topics introduced in this unit. Pashler, H. (ed.) (1998) Attention, Hove, Psychology Press. An edited book, with contributors from North America and the UK. Topics are dealt with in rather more depth than in the Styles book. 6 Concluding thoughts We seem to have come a long way and covered a great deal of ground since I approached this subject by explaining that a mechanism must exist to help us focus on one sound out of many. That clearly is one function of attention, but attention seems to have other functions too. The results of visual search experiments show that attention is a vital factor in joining together the features that make up an object, and the experiences of brain-damaged patients suggest that this feature-assembly role 5.4 Summary of Section 5 Many familiar themes have re-emerged in this section, together with the recognition that attention is involved in the assembly of remembered material as well as of current perceptions. Attention is associated with the generation of perceptual objects. In addition to being an essential part of external stimulus processing, attention influences remembered experiences. ERP data show that cortical signals derived from una 5.3 Event-related potentials When a sense organ (eye, ear, etc.) receives a stimulus, the event eventually causes neurons to ‘fire’ (i.e. produce electrical discharges) in the receiving area of the brain. The information is sent on from these first sites to other brain areas. With appropriate apparatus and techniques it is possible to record the electrical signals, using electrodes attached to the scalp. The electrical potentials recorded are called event-related potentials (ERPs), since they dependably follow 5.2 The effects of brain damage Before the advent of ‘brain mapping’, such as by fMRI, it was nevertheless possible to discover something of the part played by different regions of the brain, by observing the problems resulting from brain damage (such as following a stroke). One such area was mentioned in Section 3.2 – the parietal lobe. Damage to a single lobe (there is one on 5.1 Introduction Modern techniques for revealing where and when different parts of the brain become active have recently provided a window on the processes of attention. For example, one of these brain-scanning techniques, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), has been used to show the behaviour of an area of the brain that responds to speech. It turns out also to become activated in a person viewing lips making speech movements in the absence of sound. For this to happen there must be connecti 4.4 Summary of Section 4 We have seen that attentive processes will ‘work hard’ to unite information into a coherent whole. Even spatially separate visual and auditory stimuli can be joined if they appear to be synchronous (the ventriloquism effect). When stimuli are not synchronous the system attempts to order the segments of the stimuli independently, resulting in distraction and lost information. It is a ‘bottleneck’ in the orderin 1.1 Introduction To cover some of the concept of attention (we have only a unit, and there are whole books on the subject) I shall follow an approximately historical sequence, showing how generations of psychologists have tackled the issues and gradually refined and developed their theories. You will discover that initially there seemed to them to be only one role for attention, but that gradually it has been implicated in an ever-widening range of mental processes. As we work through the subject, two basic i 5.4.4 Using automated checking tools Another approach to testing website accessibility is the use of automated tools. These tools are useful for obtaining a quick overview of a site's accessibility and for checking technical accessibility. Examples of automated accessibility checking tools include: WebXACT: A free online service that allows people to test single web pages for quality, accessibility, and privacy issues. It is provided by Watchfire, who also offer Bobby, a desktop applicat 5.4.3 How to evaluate accessibility Accessibility guidelines and checklists can be used to evaluate a design or prototype. Despite the difficulties associated with the use of guidelines, they can be a useful tool for getting general insight into the accessibility of a website or system. As we discussed earlier, the main limitation of the use of guidelines or checklists is the fact that background knowledge of disability and assistive technology is required in order to effectively interpret and apply such guidelines. Once 3.13.6 Sources of funding for disabled students UK Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
Scotland Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
4 Evaluating success Understanding the reasons for a school's success may require special expertise, but the fact of that success should be clear….. Martin & Holt, 2002. Take another look at the cycle for improvement (below). 5 Summary and conclusion In this unit we have considered questions surrounding the future of school geography. This may at first seem an odd question, but it is salutary to remember that the advocates of geography had to work very hard to make the case for the subject's place in the English National Curriculum. As the unit sought to show, even if we can agree that geography has an important role to play in schools, opinions vary as to the purpose of the subject: Is it a
