Left Elbow Lab Report

A lab was conducted in order to figure out if the left elbow has less sensory receptors than other parts of the body, specifically the left index finger, left neck, and left cheek, while using the same stimulus. Choosing a specific side was decided in order to keep consistency. On a broader scale, this would be testing if certain parts of the body have more receptors than other areas. The hypothesis of the group conducting the experiment was that different parts of the body will have more sensory receptors than other areas because it is more vital for certain areas to respond to external stimuli. Due to this theory, it is believed that applying pressure to different areas of the body should result in different sensitivities. Further, the group’s assumption was that the elbow will be less
The group planned to sit down each person one at a time, have them blindfolded, and explained that they would be feeling a series of pressures on a certain area of their body, for example the index finger. It was the person’s job to say “yes” whenever they felt even the slightest touch of pressure. What they were not aware of was the amount of times the experimenters were applying pressure to the certain area. However the experimenters had already decided they were going to touch the person with the cotton-tipped applicator five times in each area. The experiment was conducted five times with five different people. Each time the group began by first testing the left index finger, than the left elbow, the left neck, and finally the left cheek. The pressure applied to the skin was very light to ensure the sensitivity was being tested. Every time the person being tested gave the response “yes” when pressure was applied, it was written down. Every time pressure was applied and there was no reaction or awareness of the touch, it was also