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Perspectives Essay examples

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Perspectives
Life Span & Introduction to Sociology
PSYC-2314-S03

In class we have been discussing the analogy of perspectives. A perspective is a way of seeing, also thought of as a ‘point of view’. This mental view or outlook can both enhance and constrain how we view the world in our own eyes. In the field of psychology and sociology there are many ways to perceive our world in which we live. No one perspective alone can define the world. Each perspective has its own distinctive strengths and blind spots. In class we have discussed different theories and analogies to better understand the complexity of perspectives. Perspectives will both facilitate and constrain perception. A good example of this statement is the Burke …show more content…

Even when that one perspective may not be the most accurate way of viewing something in a particular situation, it can be tempting neglect other perspectives or “tools”. The example given in class was Freud and his psychosexual theories. Freud believed that everything we did was a result of our sexual desires. Freud’s only “tool”, or perspective, was this belief , and he used it when viewing everything, even when it may have not been the best “tool for the job”. Most of us have heard the term “seeing is believing”, but in class we discussed that “believing is seeing”. When you already believe something and have an idea implanted in your memory it will alter what you think you are seeing. In class we observed many slides of different pictures portraying how believing is seeing. One specific example from the slide show was one image that contained two completely different pictures depending on how you looked at the picture. Before showing us the image for the first time the pervious slide stated “Cowboys Crossing the Creek”. When the image appeared you automatically saw cowboys on horses crossing a creek. Then we were shown a slide stating “Faces Everywhere”. This time when the same exact image was shown for the second time, you saw faces everywhere in the image. This is because you already had an idea placed in your mind causing you to see what you already believe. Referring to the familiar

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