Diana Kyle wrote:
> I missed the discussed about musk lifesavers. It sounds extremely
> interesting and fun! Do you mind sharing the activity with us again?
It wasn't much of a discussion. =) I posted a message asking if anyone
had any idea where I could find musk lifesavers. I briefly mentioned
that I thought they might be a useful way to illustrate schemas.
When discussing schemas in intro, I toss out various examples. This
time around, my last example was that we have a schema for flavors --
chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cinnamon, etc.
Musk, to most of us in North America, is not a flavor -- it's a scent,
so it's not part of our "flavor schema". However, in Australia, musk
*is* a flavor. I heard from a colleague that a friend of hers from
Australia said that until the age of 12, she thought musk was only a
flavor. She didn't realize it was also used as a scent.
Then I passed around the lifesavers, and those who were feeling
adventurous tried one -- those who weren't just smelled the roll and
passed it along. The students made varying comments, such as:
It's like spraying perfume in my mouth.
It's like licking someone's armpit.
It's like eating sweet mothballs.
Today, I'll be talking about assimilation and accommodation. In this
case, the students were assimilating -- changing the candy to fit an
existing schema (musk is a scent -- perfume, armpit, mothballs -- *not*
a flavor). And I can talk about how I've accommodated my schema -- I've
come to like the flavor musk (my flavor schema has changed to include
musk).
I was able to make the point that our schemas are so well-learned that
we often don't even notice them until we encounter something that
doesn't fit... like musk lifesavers.
It's also a great cultural eyeopener!
The hard part is finding the lifesavers. =) I went through the
Australian Catalog Company. They're located or have a division located
in the U.S., so the shipping is cheaper than ordering directly from
Australia. Call 1-800-808-0938 or on the web at
http://www.aussiecatalog.com/. It's $6.95 (U.S.) + $5.00 shipping for a
12 pack, which implies 12 rolls. But, when I ordered back in April,
they only came in packs of 20, even though the catalog said 12.
--
Sue Frantz, Asst Prof of Psych [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Faculty Office Bldg, 2400 Scenic Drive Office: (505)439-3731
New Mexico State Univ. - Alamogordo Fax: (505)439-3802
Alamogordo, NM 88310 USA http://web.nmsu.edu/~sfrantz
