381 - 01 SENSATION & PERCEPTION SYLLABUS

Descriptive Information

Course Number: PSYC – 381

Section: 01 (T Th 9:30 am – 10:50 am; 119 Blanks Hall)

Course Title: Sensation & Perception

Course Description: The study of sensation and perception has always been an integral part of experimental psychology, with pioneering contributions made by scientists such as Helmholtz and Fechner. The study of sensation and perception is concerned with the basic processes by which an organism becomes aware of and responds to the environment. Our knowledge and understanding of some of the processes involved in seeing and hearing is well developed, but much remains to be discovered, and the study of sensation and perception continues to play a fundamental role in experimental psychology.

Credit: 3.0

Pre-requisites: This course is an upper level course designed primarily for psychology majors. The course is a departmental elective for majors and is best taken after General Psychology (PSYC 210). Completion of general education requirements in biology/chemistry is helpful but not required.

Instructor: Dr. Gerry Hecht; 225 Blanks Hall; 771.2990; webmaster@psiwebsubr.org

Office Hrs: "Virtual Office Hours" via email are available at any time-"In Person" office hours by appointment.

Course Goals and Objectives

General Goals: To understand the nature of physical stimuli in the environment, transduction of those stimulus signals by  sensory receptors, processing of that transduction in the central nervous system and the cognitive and behavioral phenomena which stem from these interactions between the organism and its environment.

Course Objectives: Successful completion of this course will require that the student understand the reciprocal relationship of brain function (physiology) to behavior and mental processes (psychology). Objective examinations (see Grading section below) will be used to evaluate the ability of students to navigate fluidly from the realm of the physiological to the realm of the psychological.Course Content: Nature of physical stimuli, structure and function of sensory organs, their receptors, their connections in the brain and the limitations imposed by these structures on our knowledge of the nature of the world.

Required Readings

Course Requirements

A lecture/discussion format will be used. Readings will be assigned for each class (see schedule). Lectures will either supplement material contained in the readings or present new information that is related to assigned material but not contained in the text. Class attendance is not mandatory, however it has been my experience that missing class is deadly (in terms of examination scores). The exception to this attendance policy is exam dates. Failing to attend class on the day of an exam will result in a grade of zero for that exam (as noted in GRADING below, the lowest exam grade will be dropped).

Student Evaluation

See the class schedule for exam dates. Questions will primarily consist of short-answer items but may also include multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, true/false, and matching items. Test questions will be drawn from material covered in the text and lecture. Although each exam will focus only on new material, the information presented in this course is somewhat cumulative in nature. Thus, students should review old material when studying for each exam. Each of the FOUR (4) exams will be worth 50 points. Students arriving late to class will not be given extra time to take the exam.

IMPORTANT: I do NOT penalize students for poor class attendance... HOWEVER: I DO NOT GIVE MAKEUP EXAMS!! My policy is to DROP the lowest of the 4 exam grades.  A grade of "0" for a missed exam can be DROPPED --BUT IT CANNOT BE MADE UP!! Therefore, if you miss more than one exam it becomes very difficult to pass the class!!

Grading

Regular Exams = 4 @ 50 points = 200 minus 50 (I drop the lowest exam score)

Total points = 150

A = 135+

B = 120-134

C = 105-119

D = 90-104

F = <90

Grades are not negotiable, and I do not round up! If you don’t want to end up a few points short of a grade, be sure to earn bonus points on the exams (there is usually an extra credit item on each exam)!

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