Write a formal persuasive essay in which you argue for which sense you feel is the most important to human existance (Hearing, Taste, Smell, Touch/Pressure/Temperature, Pain,
Vision, Vestibular, Kinesthetic). Before starting use the Writing Resource Page to not only see the scoring rubric but to also see hints and explanations on how to improve various aspects of your writing. Use your class notes, videos and textbook to help you write this essay. If you use a source outside of these, please cite the source. PLEASE COPY AND
PASTE OR WRITE YOUR ESSAY BELOW. BE SURE TO LABEL YOUR ESSAY WITH
YOUR NAME & HOUR.

Keely Satterfield
4th hour A.P. Psychology
11/17/14
Persuasive essay #1

To Touch or not to Touch. If one were to ask what the most important human sense is, there would be many different answers and explanations. Some would say vision, others hearing, and still others would say smell, or taste. But what about touch? The sense of touch is the most necessary and most interesting sense of all. It has been proven in experiments, and in how an infant deprived of touch has development problems. Touch also helps one learn about its environment, and form bonds with people. It helps one determine information about an object, as well as if it causes pain or pleasure. Therefore, it is obvious that touch is the most important sense because of its great impact on the health of humans.
In the 1950’s, Harry Harlow did any experiment with infant rhesus monkeys. He proved that depriving an infant from its mother’s touch for more than ninety days lead to it suffering

permanent emotional damage. He also proved, the damage was reversible, if and only if, the monkey was placed back with a mother figure within ninety days, or around six months for humans. Harlow even set a group of infants up with two different surrogate mothers, one made of wire, the other wire covered with terry cloth. He proved that the monkeys with the terry cloth surrogate where more “normal” or suffered less emotional damage, than those with the wire surrogate. Scaring the monkeys also proved that a mother’s touch provides calm and security for the infants, when a loud noise was heard, the monkeys with the wire surrogate, folded in on themselves, rocked back and forth, and screamed loudly. Whereas, the infants with the terry cloth surrogate, rubbed up against her, and cuddled her, and calmed down within minutes and began acting normally. Leaving an infant without the mother’s touch resulted in permanent damage, and in worse cases, even death, proving that touch is essential to living a long life.
Touch is also critically for learning what is in the surrounding environment, and also important information about an object. Touch allows one to determine the weight, length, width, texture, and temperature of an object. All of which is necessary to decide if the object provides pain or pleasure. It also allows one to determine what is around them by feeling how shallow or deep, left or right, straight or curvy something is, because of this one can walk safely. It is also through touch that humans bond with one another. Touch allows one to feel affection, which completely necessary to maintain a healthy life and forming bonds with other people. Without touch, affection would be virtually impossible, leading to a life of depression, violence, memory deficits and illnesses.
Even though it is quite obvious what the most important sense is, some are likely to disagree.
Vision, for example, is usually top of the list of senses for most people. However, it is very easy

to live a practically normal life without vision, as millions of blind people prove every day.
There is also aid for those who cannot see their surroundings, like service dogs. Others may bring up hearing as the most important sense. But because of sign language, there is not a need for every person to speak. Although deaf people cannot hear