T: 3-4
W: 8-9, 3-4
F: 10-11
January 16, 2001
I have posted the office hours above and placed the class software link on
the navigation bar to the left.
January 8, 2001
Welcome back from Christmas Break. I hope you are well rested.
I am really looking forward to this class. I
hope you have as much fun as I know I will.
Look here for future announcements about the course
Broadly speaking, the study of sensation and perception is the study of how an organism's brain knows what is going on around it. To help you appreciate the questions that scientists studying sensation and perception struggle with, think of the captain of a sea ship. What does that person need to know? The captain must be able to detect obstacles, storms, other ships, and weather conditions such as extreme heat that may effect the operation and safety of the ship. To perform these functions, the captain has radar, sonar and other systems to gain information about the outside environment. In addition, the captain must know about the operating condition of the ship, such as fuel level and temperature of the engine. Sensors have been placed in the ship to give the captain the needed information. In some sense you can consider your brain, or mind, as the captain of a ship. In the same manner as the captain, your brain does not have direct access to the information necessary to behave in an intelligent and effective manner. Thus, our sensory systems such as vision and audition are like the radar which gives your brain necessary information about the outside world. You also have sensory systems that obtain information about the state of your body such as your position relative to the ground.
The objective of this course is to develop your understanding of how our sensory systems operate to gain this necessary information. We will emphasize those senses that gain information about the outside world. One of the difficulties with teaching Sensation and Perception is that we all intuitively "know" what we see, hear, etc. In addition, we have an implicit trust that what our senses tell us about is physical reality. This belief is held despite most people having extensive experience with illusions which illustrate the almost tentative nature of our information about the outside world. You will have to leave many of these intuitions behind, because there are many surprises in how our sensory systems actually operate.
In addition to the class lectures, we will be performing laboratory experiments. These experiments are important both to illustrate important phenomena of this field, and also to help you understand how the current understanding of the sensory systems has been gained.
Material covered in any course that you take here at Hanover College represents more than a collection of facts or ideas loosely held together by the course title. There is an intricate structure to what is included and what is not included which makes that course content distinct from other courses. I find, however, that in the heat of a term students and faculty get caught up in the particulars of the day's lecture or fulfilling the next assignment and sometimes lose sight of how the specifics of the day fit into the overall structure of the course. It is a "lose sight of the forest for the trees" type of phenomenon. In order to help you understand and keep track of the overall structure of this course, I have prepared the following course outline. The reading assignments are listed within the outline so that you can see how the daily lectures relate to the overall structure of the course.
Note: In addition to readings from the text there are readings on the Internet. The first lab period will cover how to get to these readings.
Week 1 M Jan 8 |
pp. 1-14 |
Week 1 WF | pp. 551-558 Review Structure of Neuron: http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/neurotut.html Review Action Potential: http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/neural/actionpotential.html |
Week 2 Jan 15 Week 3 M Jan 22 |
pp. 50-83 Scans of the Eye Receptive Fields Tutorial: http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/receptive/ Receptive Field PowerPoint File |
Week 3 WF |
pp. 85-99 Effects of Receptor (Sampling) Density |
Week 4 WR(Lab)F |
pp. 99-118; 284-320 Fourier Analysis Tutorial: http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/fourier/ Receptive Field as Edge Detector Demonstrations: Effects of Edges, Gestalt Demonstrations, Top-Down |
Week 5 Feb 5 |
pp. 120-148 Demonstrations: Three Color Mixer,Color Gamut and the CIE Diagram, Color Aftereffect; Simultaneous Color Contrast |
Week 6 MW Feb 12 |
pp. 403-430 Demonstrations: Induced Motion |
Week 8 M Mar 5 |
pp. 323-345 Parts of Vision and Art Tutorial Demonstration: Testing Emmert's Law, Size Constancy in a Photograph |
Week 8 WF |
pp. 151-178 Fourier Analysis Tutorial: http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/fourier/ |
Week 9 Mar 12 |
pp. 178-208; 347-376 PowerPoint Slides: Beats Missing Fundamental Auditory Space |
Week 10 WF Week 11 MW Mar 26 |
pp. 226-248 |
Week 11 F Week 12 M Apr 2 |
pp. 210-226 |
Week 12 WF Week 13 M Apr 9 |
pp. 430-433 |
Week 13 W | pp. 469-497 |
Week 13 F | pp. 499-530 |
In all types of inquiry, the knowledge gained is fundamentally dependent upon the methods used to gain that knowledge. Therefore, the laboratory portion of this course is set up to allow you to both experience some fundamental phenomena and also to gain experience in how scientific questions are asked, answers sought and discoveries communicated. Below is the schedule of laboratories that are part of the course. Some of the laboratories serve the purpose of illustrating important concepts in the class that take more time than a one hour class allows. These laboratories do not have any assignment associated with them and are indicated by the word "Demonstration" following the description of the laboratory. Other laboratories are designed primarily to introduce you to the methods of sensation and perception and will only have problems due on the lab period following the session indicated by the word "Problems." Other laboratories are designed to serve multiple purposes but one of the most important goal is developing skills in scientific communication. These laboratories have reports due the laboratory session following the session indicated by the word "Report."
Week | Laboratory Topic | Assignment Type |
1 | Psychophysical Methods I: Absolute Thresholds (Read Ch 2) Signal Detection Tutorial Requires Office 2000, we have it in SH208 |
|
2 | Psychophysical Methods II: Psychophysical Laws (Read Ch 2) | Problems from both weeks |
3 | Optics | Demonstration |
4 | Blakemore-Sutton Effect I | |
5 | Blakemore-Sutton Effect II/Project Proposal Due | Report |
6 | Color Vision Laboratory | Problems |
7 | Stereoscopic Size Constancy I | |
8 | Stereoscopic Size Constancy II | Report |
9 | Masking Level Difference | Problems |
10 | Muelller-Lyer Illusion | Demonstration |
11 | Skin Senses | Problems |
12 | Off | |
13 | FINAL LAB PROJECT REPORT DUE/CLASS PRESENTATION |
Periodically throughout the term there will be short homework assignments required. The homework will primarily be problems of a type covered in the class during which the homework is assigned. The homework will usually require basic math skills including simple trigonometry. Only math that is required for entrance into the college is assumed and the procedures will be reviewed in the class. The purpose of the homework is to develop skills in using math to solve problems and make predictions to be tested. Each set of problems will be due at the beginning of the next class period. You should be prepared to present the problem to the class and discuss your solution. The homework problems will be worth a total of 100 points. You will be graded only on the problem you present. If you are not ready to present the problem when called on, then you will get a 0 for this assignment.
There will be four examinations. The examinations will be a combination format of short answer items (such as identification) and longer essays. You should expect that the type of work required in the homework assignments will be required on the examinations. All examinations will be of a similar format. Also, all examinations will be cumulative because all later material builds on or relates to earlier material. Since each successive examination covers more material, each successive examination will be worth more according to the following chart.
Exam #1 | 75 points |
Exam #2 | 100 points |
Exam #3 | 125 points |
Exam #4 | 200 points |
Problems. The problems will be simple data analysis based on the results of the laboratory. The analysis may require simple statistical procedures such as a mean or a graphical presentation of the results. Each set of problems is worth 25 points for a total of 100 points.
Reports. For three of the laboratories, you will be required to write up the experiment in the form of a report. The format for the reports are to be strictly APA except as noted in class. Copies of the APA format guide are on reserve under PSY220. All laboratory reports are due exactly one week after you perform the experiment. Each report is worth 50 points.
Your own Laboratory Project. In this class we have the great fortune of having available an excellent software package that can be used to perform actual experiments on visual capabilities. You will, with a partner, devise an experiment using this software. Do not get confined by the titles of the experiment. The range of possible experiments is great and go well beyond what we might use in our laboratories. A short proposal for your experiment is required to be submitted on February 1. You will then collect the data and prepare both a written and oral presentation of your experiment. The written laboratory report will be done separately by each lab partner, but the oral presentation (20 minutes total) will be a combined effort. The written report is due April 12 and the oral presentations will be on April 12. The lab report will be worth 100 points and the oral presentation will be worth 50 points for a total of 150 points.
You can find the powerpoint slides from previous class presentations here.
Participation in and regular attendance of classroom activities and discussions will be worth 125 points. I expect each student to participate fully in discussions in class and laboratories. These discussions are integral to getting the greatest possible benefit from this class.
An assignment is late 1 minute after the beginning of class. One letter grade will be subtracted for the first day late and another letter grade for each additional day, also beginning at the time of class plus one minute.
I grade on a point system which means that each assignment of the course is worth a certain amount of points towards the final grade. When you get an assignment back you will be given a grade with the points earned over the total number of points. Thus, you should be able to follow your progress in the course on your own.
Grades will be assigned as follows:
A |
93.4-100% |
A- |
90-93.3% |
B+ |
86.7-89.9% |
B |
83.4-86.6% |
B- |
80-83.3% |
C+ |
76.8-79.9% |
C |
73.4-76.7% |
C- |
70-73.3% |
D |
60-69.9% |
F |
< 60% |