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Instructor: |
Uta Wolfe |
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Office: |
217 Gulick Hall |
Phone: |
3459 |
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Email: |
uwolfe |
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Office Hours: |
M 5-6:30, W 3-4:30 or by appt.
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website: |
people.hws.edu/uwolfe/psych299 |
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Lectures: |
MW |
Library Sanford Room |
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Course
Description and Objectives
In
this class, you should gain an understanding of how the properties of our sense
organs and brain enable us to extract information from our environment, and how
they shape our perception of the world. You should be able to contrast and
compare the characteristics of the different sensory modalities. We will concentrate on the visual system,
covering topics such as color vision, depth perception and object recognition,
before covering audition, touch, taste and smell in lesser detail.
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required: 1) text: Perception, Sekuler and Blake, 4th ed.; 2) class
hand-outs
- supplemental/ recommended: materials posted on course website
Course
Requirements and Grading:
- A: 93-100%, A- : 90-92%
B+:
87-89%, B: 83-86%, B-: 80-82%
C+:
77-79%, C: 73-76%, C-: 70-72%
D+:
67-69%, D: 63-76%, D-: 60-62%
- three tests (45% total; lowest score: 10%, other two scores: 17.5%)
- Final exam OR Final Project (25%)
- 2 Papers (3-4 pages each) (7.5% each)
- Class participation (15%)
Exams
The exams will be a mixture of Multiple Choice, Short
Answer and Essay Questions. The final exam will be cumulative, and will include
material from the student presentations.
As an alternative to the final exam you can prepare a final project
(paper and presentation, see below) on any topic in Sensation/Perception that
interests you. The project can consist
in a literature research, your own experiment, or the design of an original
Sensation/Perception demo.
Instead of taking the final exam you can choose to
prepare a final presentation (using either powerpoint or a website you created;
approx. 25 minutes) and a paper (APA style, 8-14 pages) on a topic of your
choice. Your project can be a literature
research or an original study or demonstration (in which case you can work with
a partner). It should be an in-depth
exploration of your topic and should go well beyond the class material. It should have at least 10 references
(excluding websites and textbooks; at least 6 of your references should be
original studies) and should present the most recent state of knowledge in this
area. Some general guidelines on the project are given below.
All work handed in for this
class (both tests and papers) must be your own, original work. All incidents of suspected cheating and
plagiarism will be fully investigated and when confirmed will lead to a failing
grade in the class.
When writing assignments for psychology classes, you
follow the same citation rules covered in English classes. Namely, you must properly cite all
your sources, indicate direct quotes, give credit for ideas and paraphrased
material etc. For more on rules and on
how to avoid plagiarism please see
http://academic.hws.edu/hwswrites/avoidingplagiarism.asp
You
are responsible for knowing and understanding these policies, thus you cannot
plead ignorance.
Suggested timeline (this
being Week 1)
Now - Week 3:
Peruse the course material, websites, textbooks to find topics that
interest you. If you have trouble
finding resources, talk to me. Do not
restrict your topics to the ones covered in class during the first few weeks!
Week 4-6: Search the library for papers on your choice
of topics. Having reviewed some of the
literature available, define your topic more closely.
Week. 6: Topic due Oct 15: Type a two-sentence statement defining your
topic. (can be sent by email)
Week 8-10: Find both the classic and the most recent
literature on your topic and review it.
Write an annotated reference report with at least 10 references
(excluding websites and textbooks).
Report due Nov 3.
Week 10-13: Write a 1st draft of the paper.
Prepare your presentation slides.
Practice
your presentation on a non-expert audience.
Edit your slides according to their feedback.
Week 14-15: Presentations. Finalize paper. Final due date: Dec 16
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Keep slides simple and minimize print.
Remember that you are now the specialist on your subject, and your
audience knows only very little about it!
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Make a handout for audience members (no more than one page)
illustrating the main points you want them to learn
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Practice your presentation on a “non-expert” audience; make sure they
understand the main points
- Make sure you stay within the time limit (plan on an absolute maximum of 25 minutes)
- When presenting try to speak freely, i.e. avoid reading from your notes.
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Topic
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Reading (by week) |
Notes |
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1. |
Aug
30 |
Organizational
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none |
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2. |
Sep 1 |
Introduction
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Chapter 1 |
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3. |
6 |
Psychophysics
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Hand-Out |
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4. |
8 |
Light and the Eye
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Chapter 2 |
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5. |
13 |
The Retina
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6. |
15 |
Ganglion Cells ; Lateral Inhibition
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Chapter 3 |
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7. 8. |
20 22 |
Sensitivity vs
Acuity
Central Visual
Pathways
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Chapter 4 |
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9. |
27 |
Exam 1
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10. |
29 |
Spatial Vision
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Chapter 5 |
Decision Due |
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11. 12. |
Oct
4 6 |
CSF/ Form
Perception
Object
Recognition/ Attention
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Chapter 6 |
Friday: Paper 1 due |
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13. |
11 13 |
Fall Break
Color Vision
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Chapter 7 |
Friday: Topics due |
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14. 15. |
18 20 |
Depth Perception
Size Constancy
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Chapter 8
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16. 17. |
25 27 |
Exam 2
Motion Perception
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Chapter 9 |
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18. 19. |
Nov
1 3 |
Motion Perception
Sound and the Ear
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Chapter 10 |
Ref. Report Due |
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20. |
8 |
Central Auditory Pathways
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21. |
10 |
Hearing and
Listening
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Chapter 11 |
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22. |
15 |
Touch
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Chapter 12 |
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23. |
17 |
Smell / Taste
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Chapter 13 |
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24. |
22 |
Exam 3
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24 |
Thanksgiving
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25. |
29 |
Final
Presentations
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26. |
Dec
1 |
Final
Presentations
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27. 28. |
6 8 |
Final Presentations
Final
Presentations
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Paper 2 Due |
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Dec
16 |
Final Examination:
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Final
Paper Due |