Recognize that reality is all in your head

Chapter 1

We see what we think is there.

What do you see in this next slide

Please read it out loud

ParisIn the

the Springtime

BirdIn the

the Hand

OnceIn a

a lifetime

Why is That?

Sensation – the physical process of receiving stimuli which connect with our sensory organs and receptors, then translating them information into electrochemical impulses or signals with in our nervous system and brainPerception occurs when our brain interprets these signals and ascribes meaning to them.

The Concept of Frames

Paradigm – formed by your expectations, your beliefs, your pre-conceived notions.

In your text, it is referred to as a frame

We each develop our own frames of reference to enable us to organize and understand our world, our perceptions, our experiences.

Try to solve this problem….

Connect the nine dots using only four straight lines and not lifting your pen off the paper.

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Solution:

● ● ●

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Speaking about Frames…Somewhere in the Caribbean, in twin islands, Maria and Mario knew since they were infants that they were meant for each other. They promised their love and fidelity. They planned their marriage for the following summer….

As in all stories….the conflict…..

A strong hurricane ravages the twin islands….the bridge…the only way of twin islanders to visit each other….is washed away……

And Maria?

Maria goes every day and stands where the bridge used to be….She hopes to see Mario…but he’s not there.Two weeks pass by, and still no news….

She runs into a friend 17 days later…

She tells her story to her friend…how worried she is about Mario and his whereabouts

The friend refers her to a boat man…the only one on the island.

The boatman eyes Maria….

“Sure, I’ll take you,” he says. “But it will cost you.”

“Anything, please…..I must go over to see Mario.”

The boatman looks again at Maria and says, “It’s not money or gifts….my price is you with me for one hour.”

Maria is horrified, she runs away crying.

Maria returns to her friend.

She tells him the story, and the rudeness of this man and asks him to intervene.

The friend looks at Maria and says, “But he’s my friend as well. I can’t get into the middle of this problem, sorry.”

Maria is devastated….

29 Days have gone by, and no Mario.

By now, Maria is frantic

She goes back to the boatman

She pleads for him not to be so inhumane

He looks at her and says…”you know my price”

Maria agrees……

Maria finds comfort only in knowing she will go to the twin island, in search of her Mario.

She arrives at the twin island

She searches for Mario where his hut was…it was blown away

She nervously seeks him all over the island and can’t find him.

Finally, at the end of the island…

She finds him working on building new huts.

She runs to him…He notices her and comes running to her…

They embrace….they kiss

She can’t believe she is finally in his armsThey talk the small talk young people in love talk aboutShe loves him so much, she must advise Mario how she got to the island—at what cost

She tells him the whole story…

Mario looks at Maria in one long, very long look and says

“You disgust me….get out of here….I never want to see you again….”

Maria…brokenhearted….

Runs up the hill where she encounters a bully

The bully sees her crying and comforts her

“Who is it that hurt you so?”

Maria looks up at the bully, smiles and points at Mario

The Bully beats up Mario

Mario loses the fight

Maria laughs.

Your Task: Rate each Character

MariaMarioThe FriendThe BoatmanThe Bully

Rate each character on a scale of 1 to 5, based on their actions,1=The best 2=Next best 3= Neutral4= Next to worst 5=The worstThen, state why you rated each character as you did, and what

value or belief system (paradigm) each had that led you to make this decision.

Grp 1

Grp 2

Grp

3

Grp

4

Grp

5

Grp

6

Grp

7

Grp

8

Grp9

Maria 1 1 4 1 4 1 1 3 1

Mario 4 5 2 4 2 4 5 4 4

Boatman 5 4 5 5 5 5 4 5 5

Friend 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 1 3

Bully 2 3 1 2 1 2 2 2 2

Rating of Each Character

Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm Paradigm

Maria

Mario

Boatman

Friend

Bully

Values, Belief Systems for Each Character

Objectivism

There is a separate reality independent from the observer of that realityFor example, a chair you are looking at exists independent of you.Thus, the task of science is to discover reality.Objectivists value truth, what is out there is to be discovered.

ConstructionismThere is no separate realityThe chair when you look at it is different somehow than the chair that exists when you are not looking at it.Therefore, if we are involved in the reality we experience, we seek not to discover reality, but to invent it. Constructivists value usefullnessAnd truth is seen as relative, constantly changing according to the frame of reference of the observer.

Memory Distortion

Our memories are not always as accurate as we assume

Many times innocent people have been sent to jail based on “eye-witness” accounts that later were proven to be wrong.

If a tree were to fall in a forest

And no one is there to hear it, does the sound still exist?

The answer is:

No…For sound to exist it requires the tree to fall, AND you to hear it.

Paradigm Shift

All major scientific discoveries are preceded by a paradigm shift, a change in the overriding theoretical framework that governs a scientific discipline.

In psychology, this is seen by Freud’s early work on psycho-sexual paradigms that have since changed

Paradigm Shifts in Everyday Life

Old habits are hard to break. Old paradigms are hard to break as well.Most of what we perceive is supported by our original frames.Like when we thought our parents were crazy when we were teenagers, and once we became parents, or adults, we realized how right they were

Functional Fixedness

Seeing things in only the way they have been conventionally used.

Global Perspective

Reframing

How do you view things: as half-empty or has half-full?Learn to see it in different ways, is it what it appears to be? What does it appear to be?

Ambiguous Figures: What do you see?