Sensation and Perception Case Study Captain Angelina Johnson has been flying pri

Question

Sensation and Perception Case Study

Captain Angelina Johnson has been flying private and commercial aircraft for almost 30 years. Her flight from Boston to Dallas on the night of November 4 was as routine as any other; Angelina and her copilot had run through their preflight routine in the darkness of the cockpit and, after a 20-minute delay, were cleared for takeoff. Halfway through the flight, Captain Johnson noticed something unusual out of the corner of her eye: a point of light that was initially very faint but growing brighter. It stood out against the backdrop of terrestrial light sources because it appeared to be much closer, and possibly moving.

Knowing that no other aircraft were operating in the area, Angelina focused her attention on the mysterious light source, concerned only with whether it might pose a threat to the safety of her passengers and crew. When at last Angelina still couldn’t make out what the mysterious object was after observing it for several minutes, she decided to take no chances. She rapidly increased altitude to put more distance between her aircraft and the object, which eventually faded from view and did not return. A later investigation could make no determination of what Angelina saw, but concluded that she acted appropriately to protect her passengers.

1. Why would Captain Johnson and her copilot sit in darkness for an extended period of time before taking off on a night flight? Be sure to describe in detail the parts of the eye and the processes involved that explain why this was a useful step for the pilot and copilot to take.

2. Why would the mysterious object have first appeared to Angelina in her peripheral vision?

3. (a) What cues might Captain Johnson have used to determine that the mysterious object was much closer to her aircraft than any light source on the ground? Be sure to explicitly reference (i.e. name and describe) relevant concepts from your textbook in your answer.

4. Why might it have been difficult to determine whether the object was actually moving? Be sure to explicitly reference (i.e. name and describe) relevant concepts from your textbook in your answer.

5. Several of the passengers noticed when Captain Johnson changed altitude despite having no visual cues as a reference. Describe the sense that allowed these passengers to detect the aircraft’s motion, and explain how this sense worked to help the passengers notice the change in altitude.

Explanation / Answer

1. Captain Johnson and her copilot sat in the darkness before taking off a night flight in order to adjust to the darkness present when they are piloting the flight. Wat they are doing is adjusting their sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to sensory stimuli.

This step was useful because if they sat in the light before taking off the flight then it would have a taken some time for their eyes to adjust to the darkness which means they couldn't have seen properly and a possible accident could have happened.

2. The mysterious object appeared to her in her peripheral vision because the light was coming from the backdrop of terrestrial light sources and also the light was moving but other terrestrial light sources were fixed.

3. Visual cues like increased intensity of the light source as compared to other terrestrial light sources caused the Captain to determine that mysterious object was close to her aircraft than any other light source. As she was piloting the flight her field of view was changing but the light source was also present which she could see from the peripheral vision. Because of this she could make out that the object was closer to her.

4. It was actually difficult because the plane was moving at a specific speed and the object was seen by her through the edge or periphery of the eye so it was observed at an angle that was changing with the speed of the plane. So, it was difficult for her to determine whether the object was actually movng.

5. The sense of balance or equilibrioception allowed the passengers to understand the aircraft's motion. When the plane was moving at the same altitude the inertia of their bodies was on the same direction but as the altitude changed the direction of the inertia changed and the balance also changed which was detected by sense of balance.

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