Instructor: Tim Gersch
Email:
Office: PSY-146 Busch
Office hours: W 4-6

Text, Perception (5th edition, 2005) by Randolph Blake and Robert Sekuler.

The following schedule of topics may be modified during the semester because it is not possible to predict how long it will take us to complete each topic. If it becomes necessary, an exam will be postponed by one class day from the date scheduled below. Any postponements that may be required will be announced in class before the scheduled date of the exam.

The material covered in the course is cumulative. Ideas introduced in the first few lectures will be amplified and developed throughout the semester. So: don’t erase your memory banks after each hourly exam! You’ll be expected to recall the ideas, facts and concepts we cover early in the course in order to understand new material.

The required reading overlaps only in part with the corresponding lectures. Some issues developed at length in lecture may be given scant attention in the text while some issues discussed in detail in the text will not be covered in lecture. There will also be some points on which text and lecture do not agree and these will be described as we get to them. The differences between the text and lecture are as they should be. The text and the lecture complement each other; they are not intended to be redundant.

Part 1: Origin and nature of the study of perception

Sep 5	Introduction and themes	Ch 1
Sep 8	Mental life and neural events: philosophical roots	Ch 1
Sep 12	Mental life and neural events: nature of neural conduction	Ch 2, 29-40
Sep 15	Johannes Mueller (Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies)	Ch 2, 41-69
Sep 19	Fecher and the beginning of psychophysics	Appendix, 553-564
Sep 22	Detection of light 1	Ch 3, 95-110
Sep 26	Detection of light 2	Ch 3, 95-110
Sep 29	Detection of light 3	Ch 3, 95-110
Oct 3	Exam 1

Part 2: Perception of color, contrast and form

Oct 6	Color 1	Ch 7, 233-255
Oct 10	Color 2	Ch 7, 255-263
Oct 13	Lightness and contrast, Mach Bands	Ch 3, 71-95
Oct 17	Neurophysiology of contrast perception: receptive fields	Ch 4, 111-118
Oct 20	Early vision and the visual cortex	Ch 4, 118-137
Oct 24	Early vision: Contrast sensitivity and spatial scales 1	Ch 5, 151-168
Oct 27	Early vision: Contrast sensitivity and spatial scales 2	Ch 5, 171-179
Oct 31	Perception of form: Nativism vs. empiricism	Ch 4, 142-150; Ch5 180-186
Nov 3	Perception of form: grouping	Ch 8 298-302; 312-315
Nov 7	Exam 2

Part 3: Constructing the perceptual world

Nov 10	Perceptual development	Ch 5, 168-171; Ch 6, 201-205
Nov 14	Perception of depth and stereo; intermediate vision	Ch 8, 273-295
Nov 17,22	Intermediate vision; Perception and recognition of objects	Ch 5, 186-189; Ch 6, 193-196; Ch 6 205-212
Nov 28	Perception of motion; eye movements/localization	Ch 9, 317-347; Ch 4 137-142
Dec 1	Attention	Ch 6, 215-219; 224-231 Ch 9, 347-351
Dec 5	Audition 1	Ch 10 353-383
Dec 8	Audition 2	Ch 11 389-391; 412-416; Ch 12, 428-444
Dec 12	Final exam

General Information

Required reading, NJ Books Bookstore: Perception, 5th ed. by R. Blake and R. Sekuler. McGraw Hill, 2005. (This is different from the 4th edition used last year.)

Web: I will be using “ecompanion” to post material for this course. You can login at www.rutgersonline.net, which also contains information about how to login, as well as technical requirements to use ecompanion. Material posted will be: syllabus, unit summaries, key words, study questions, and some figures and diagrams. Postings will be added and modified as the class progresses. Lectures will not be posted.

Office hours: Busch Psychology, Room 146: Wednesdays, 4-6and by appointment.
Appointments may be made after class. Additional office hours will be scheduled before exams.

Email: Some questions dealing with course administration or content can be handled by email. Send questions to: tgersch@rci.rutgers.edu. Lengthy or complex issues will have to be dealt with after class or during office hours.

Hourly exams: There will be 2 hourly exams. The first will contribute 30 points and the second will contribute 35 points toward the final grade. 10 points in each of the hourly exams will be based on the required reading material. The remaining points (20 points in exam 1 and 25 points in exam 2) will be based on the required lecture material. Each hourly will test material covered since the previous exam. The final exam will contribute 35 points to the final grade (25 based on the lecture, 10 on the reading). 20 of the lecture points and all 10 reading points will cover material covered since the second hourly exam; the remaining 5 lecture points will review earlier material.

Exam requirements: Students are required to take all exams. If you miss an hourly exam for a legitimate reason (e.g., illness) you must submit an official excuse (e.g., doctor's note) and a make-up will be given at the time of the final. If you do not submit an excuse note, a grade of 0 will be assigned and no make-up will be given. Once you begin work on an exam itwill count. No exam scores will be dropped. So, if you are ill, do not take the exam -- see your doctor! If you miss the final exam for a legitimate reason, a make-up will be scheduled. There will be no excused absences from the final.

Missed classes: You are responsible for material covered in classes that you may miss. To find out what was covered borrow notes from another student. Then, to discuss material, ask questions, or get additional explanations, come to office hours or make an appointment.

Grades: You can earn a maximum of 100 points for the semester. Letter grades at the end of the semester will be based on the following scale: 90-100 points A; 86-90 points B+ ; 76-85 points B; 70-75 points C+; 60-69 points C; 50-59 points D; < 50 points F. These cut-points will apply to everyone. No adjustments in cut-points will be made for individual students.

Helpful Hints

1. The most important requirement for doing well in this class is to attend class. Lecture attendance is crucial. The course content is cumulative so if you miss class, your understanding of material in subsequent classes will be compromised.

2. Ask questions in lecture. If you're confused, things will only get worse; new material relies on the concepts already developed.

3. Make sure you understand the main points of each lecture and the main points of the reading material. You should be able to understand how specific examples and specific details relate to the main themes. Test yourself by writing a short summary or an outline of the lecture. Don't rely on the feeling that you know what's going on. See if you can state the main points.

4. Each lecture builds on the material of the prior lectures. Review your notes, with special emphasis on the main themes, before coming to class.

5. When reading the text, pay particular attention to the key words and to the graphs and figures. This is where the authors are putting the most important information.

6. Pace your reading for each unit wisely. Do not leave it all for the last minute. You won't remember much if you do

7. For questions or for individual help, see me after class, or during office hours, or make an appointment.

8. If you would like to discuss exam performance, bring your exam to office hours. Often there is a pattern to the errors that can be diagnosed only by examining your performance.

9. In the interest of fairness to all, no questions will be answered during exams. To do so is equivalent to giving some students help or hints at the expense of other students. If you believe you have spotted a typographical error, raise your hand and report the question number to a proctor.