Sensation & Perception Psyc 207, 307 Fall 2011

Sarah Elliott, Ph.D.

slelliott@uchicago.edu Office: BPSB RM 115A Hours: MT 11am -12 pm Phone: 773-702-9412

Why take this course?

"Esse est percipi" "To be is to be perceived ! (Berkeley, c1710) There is no conception in mans mind which hath not at first, totally or by parts, been begotten upon the organs of sense. (Hobbes, 1651) Man is nothing but a bundle of sensations (Protagoras, c 450 B.C.)

We get information about the world around us through our senses.

Problems of perception
1. Perception seems so obvious, we take it for granted!
If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare. Ralph Waldo Emerson

e.g. extrasensory perception

e.g. recovery from blindness

2. Its not obvious what we sense

Do we see light? NO!
We use light to see, But we do not see light. e.g. see any light in this room?

How bright an object is does not depend on the amount of light reflected

Do we see pictures? NO! Image on the eye is 2D, But we see the world as 3D.

Do we see visible surfaces? NO! Perception fills in even the parts we cant see

Do you and I see the same thing?

e.g., adaptation

Problem of Perception
We are only in contact with our world indirectly through what our senses provide But our senses do not provide all the raw information we need!
depth from 2d picture self-motion vs. object motion size vs. distance color vs. wavelength

Studying perception helps us better realize our limitations as sensory creatures

Does what we perceive accurately reflect the physical world? No! e.g. visual illusions trick us into seeing things that are not physically present or accurate.

Do we really perceive as much as we think we do? No! e.g. attention studies show we may ignore large variations in a stimulus (e.g. change blindness)

Watercolor Illusion

Percepts do not always reflect the physical stimulus

Ebbinghaus Illusion Ouchi Illusion Mller-Lyer Illusion Hering Illusion

We dont perceive as much as we think

What implications do these effects have for Airport Security?

Wolfe & Van Wert, Current Biology, 2010

Or tired pilots who are landing/ taking off?

Haines, 1989

What is the focus of this course?

THE BRAIN
How and what do we perceive? How is the brain organized? How does this organization lead to a single percept? Does this percept depend on what weve previously learned?

Focus on Vision

Vision can help us understand how the brain works 1. Huge proportion of brain devoted to vision (~1/3) 2. Enormously complicated problem, but is seemingly effortless (failure of computer vision) 3. The science of vision is accessible

Vision is accessible

Illusions are the exception, not the rule

Illusions reveal how our sensory systems solve ambiguities by illustrating how the solution may not work in specific cases

Understanding the brain by studying vision

Example: Face Perception Fusiform Face Area (FFA)

Human Brain

Understanding the brain by studying vision

What happens when Fusiform Face Area (FFA) is damaged?

What does the FFA tell us?

General principle: Brain has modules (regions) devoted to specific perceptual tasks (like face perceptionand many other things too...) Conclusion: Studying visual perception can help us understand the brain.

What will you learn by the end of the course

Sensation, perception, and brain research and applications How to question the commonplace events, notice details that reveal function of brain and mind

Teaching Assistants
Carly Kontra
Office hours W 11-1 in Green 317

Laurie Skelly
Office hours Tu 1:30-3:30 in Kelly 314

Elizabeth Allen

Business
Lectures will be posted under Course Documents on Chalk before class. Topical Discussion readings can be downloaded from Chalk under Course Documents.
Grad student readings will be listed under Graduate Section Materials

Topical Discussions
Brief intro by instructor on the topic Grad students will present and lead discussion on original research article For 2/5 discussions, you must complete a written summary. The format for the summary can be found on Chalk under Course Documents Due 1 week following topical lecture

Assignments and Exams

2 assignments will be given during the quarter. They will consist of mostly short essay questions. They will be posted at least 1 week before the due date. Exams will contain multiple choice and short essay questions related to lecture and reading material.

Term Paper:
2 options At least 3 references (text book chapters do not count), APA style REQUIRED
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basicstutorial.aspx

Hard copy due Nov. 30, in class

Grading Details
Based on a scale of 100 points. Source
Assignments (2) Discussion Reports (2) Research paper Midterm Exam Final Exam Extra Credit

Points
10 (20 Total) 10 (20 Total) 20 20 20 +5 Max

% of Total
20% 20% 20% 20% 20% +5% Max

Extra Credit
Attend a guest lecture on campus that relates to the course material. Write up a brief summary of the lecture. Participate in a research study on SONA. Make sure to apply credit to the correct course Watch for in class announcements throughout the quarter for more extra credit opportunities!.

For Wed!
Quick overview of neurons and neural networks the building blocks of all perception!

Grad Students
Please stay after class today to discuss the weekly discussion schedule.