Perception

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Spring 2004• Wake Forest University • PSY 329 (sec. # 5397) & 629 (sec. # 5830)

Instructor: Dr. James Schirillo

Office Hours: Wednesday & Friday 11:00-12:00, or by appointment.
Office: 428 Greene Hall Phone: 758-4233
e-mail: schirija@wfu.edu
http://psych.wfu.edu/psychology/faculty/schirillo.htm

Required Text:

  1. Sekuler, R. & Blake, R. (2002) Perception
    Fourth Edition. Boston: McGraw Hill.
  2. Gregory, R.L. (1997) Eye and Brain, The Psychology
    of Seeing Fifth Edition.
    Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Class Times: Monday, Wednesday & Friday 10:00-10:50
Class Room: Greene 160

Course Goals: How we perceive the world differs from what exists in reality. The study of Perception examines these discrepancies and how the psychological world relates to the physical world as indicated by the formal title “psycho-physics”. This course will explore the principles that underlie how psychologists study the processes of seeing and hearing. It will focus on three main issues: (1) the philosophical problems that underlie the mind-body problem, (2) the physiological mechanisms that determine how the body works, and (3) the perceptual mechanisms that demonstrate how the mind interprets the world.

Course Requirements: There will be three cumulative exams worth 100 points each. They will consist of essays and short answer questions. There will be no make-up exams. There will be one term paper worth 100 points. You will select a topic from the reference section of your textbook for this 6-10 page paper by Friday January 30th. (Graduate students in Psy 629 will complete a 20-25 page paper instead). I will discuss specific details of the paper in class. The paper is due Friday April 19th.

Grading:

A=93%-100% (369-400); A-=90%-92% (357-368); B+=87%-89% (345-356);
B=83%-86% (329-344); B-=80%-82% (317-328); C+=77%-79%; (305-316);
C=73%-76%; (289-304); C-=70%-72%; (277-288); D+=67%-69%; (265-276);
D=63%-66%; (249-264); D-=60%-62%; (237-248); F<=59%; (236)

Tentative Semester Schedule
Regular text – Sekuler & Blake Italics – Gregory
Jan. 14 An Intro to Perception; Chapter 1
Vision of vision; Chapter 1
Jan. 16, 21, 23 The Human Eye; Chapter 2
Light; Chapter 2 & Eye; Chapter 3
Jan. 26, 28, 30 The Eye & Seeing; Chapter 3
Jan. 30 Topic and Specific Article for Paper
Feb. 2, 4, 6 Central Visual Pathways; Chapter 4
Brain; Chapter 4
Feb. 9, 11, 13 Spatial Vision and Pattern Perception; Chapter 5
Feb. 16 Exam 1
Feb. 18, 20, 23 Object Perception & Recognition; Chapter 6
Seeing Brightness; Chapter 5
Feb. 25, 27, March 1 Color Perception; Chapter 7
Seeing Colours; Chapter 7
March 3, 5, 15 Seeing in a Three-Dimensional World; Chapter 8
Learning how to see; Chapter 8
March 17, 19, 22 Action and the Perception of Events; Chapter 9
Seeing Movement; Chapter 6
March 24 Exam 2
March 26, 29, 31 The Ear and Auditory System; Chapter 10
April 2, 5, 7 Hearing and Listening; Chapter 11
Realities of art; Chapter 9
Illusions; Chapter 10
Speculations; Chapter 11
April 12, 14, 16, 19 Touch; Chapter 12
April 19 Paper Due
April 21, 23, 26, 28 Smell and Taste; Chapter 13
Friday May 7 2:00 P.M. Exam 3

 

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