Synesthesia is a condition involving the involuntary and simultaneous experience of a sense caused by the activation of another sense. For example, when someone with synesthesia hears a certain sound, he or she may immediately see a specific color, such as orange. Synesthesia is involuntary, meaning the individual cannot control the activation of another sense. According to the American Psychological Association, synesthesia comes in many forms. Some synesthetes (the term for individuals with the condition) hear, smell, taste, or even feel pain in color. Others can taste shapes or perceive words and sentences as colors. One synesthete described seeing a cloud of dark blue in his visual field when eating chicken and a cloud of orange when eating potatoes. In preparing a meal, this individual must not only focus on flavors that are appetizing, but he also has to make sure the color combination is appetizing. In fact, he confesses to eating chicken with ice cream, because together, they make a very appealing light-blue cloud (Child, 2009). Although researchers have yet to determine the cause of synesthesia, we do know that it has a genetic component (it runs in families), it is more likely to occur in left-handed individuals, and it occurs more often in women than men.
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1
How are synesthesia and paranormal experiences similar? (To review findings on paranormal experiences, see Chapter 3, page 112 in your textbook.)
How are synesthesia and paranormal experiences similar? (To review findings on paranormal experiences, see Chapter 3, page 112 in your textbook.)
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2
Conduct an online search and identify at least two famous people who have (or had, if deceased) synesthesia.
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Locate two online articles or studies that focus on explaining synesthesia. Briefly summarize potential explanations for this condition. Provide a citation for each article or study, including the URL of each Website from which you gathered the information.
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What challenges might arise for an individual living with synesthesia? In your opinion, are there certain instances where synesthesia could interfere with a person’s ability to lead a normal life?
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____ means “outside the range of normal experience.”
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Which of the following statements about synesthesia is true?
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Synesthesia is the _____ experience of a sense caused by the activation of another sense.
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Based on the information provided in this exercise, as well as the articles or studies that you located, provide an example of synesthesia.
A number of answers will work for this question. One example of synesthesia is seeing words and sentences in the color blue. Another example is associating a shape or texture to a sound, upon hearing that sound