Unit 5 - Perception Reading - Part one due on Mon. 11/30 (a) and Tues. 12/1 (b)

Bernstein Text Chapter 5 Pp. 150 – 192

Perception... How we make sense of our senses.

As you read the text take Cornell Notes and be sure you understand the concepts represented be the following questions:

Part 1 (pages 150-172) Mon. 11/30 and Tues. 12/1

1. What is the “Perception Paradox?”
2. Explain and compare the three main approaches to perception: ecological, constructivist, and computationalist.
3. What is psychophysics? (not just Niebuhr, Moore and Guerrero being crazy)
4. What is an “Absolute Threshold?”
5. Explain the difference between “subliminal” and “supraliminal” perception.
6. What do YOU think about the power of subliminal messages?
7. What is “Signal Detection” theory?
8. Describe what a “Just-noticeable Difference” is and explain “Weber’s Law.”
9. Explain how Fechner’s law and Stevens’s Power Law relate to our perception of intensity of stimuli.
10. Explain how our brains organize the perceptual world.
• Figure- Ground, Grouping, Auditory Scene Analysis (Gestalt principles)
11. Explain perception of distance and location
• Two dimensional location
• Depth Perception via: interposition, relative size, height in visual field, texture gradients, linear perspective, motion parallax.
• Accommodation, convergence and binocular disparity in visual system.
12. Explain perception of motion

· Looming, stroboscopic motion

13. Why do we perceive consistency in our world when our sense data is always changing? Explain perceptual consistency.

· Size, Shape and Brightness consistency.

Part 2 (pages 173-192) Due Wed. 12/2 and Thurs. 12/3

14. How do culture, and experience shape perception of reality?
15. Explain the concepts of “Bottom-Up” and “Top-Down” processing.
16. What is the parallel distributed processing (PDP) model?
17. How do developing infants demonstrate various aspects of perceptual processing?
18. What is “attention?” How is it directed? What is “selective attention?”
19. When is it possible to “multi-task” and when is it not possible? Why?
20. How is perceptual research applied in the following fields?

• Aviation, human-computer interaction, traffic safety, architecture & design

Bernstein Study Guide Chapter 5 Pp. 126 – 157 Due 12/7 (a) and 12/8 (b)

(You will be graded for completing and correcting the study guide assignments not for how many you got right.)

1. Skim outline Pp. 126-130 – Make sure you know underlined terms and that they are in your notes.

2. Meaningful Flashcards of ALL Key Terms Pp. 130- 133 - Note examples and mnemonics (only 33 this unit)

3. Do the fill-in-the-blanks key terms quiz on Pp. 134-135. Write the question with your answer. Check your work (P. 144) and write the correct answer for any you got wrong.

4. Review the “Learning Objectives” on Pp. 153-136 – These are good sources for possible FRQ questions.

5. Do Sample Quiz 1 on Pp. 138-141 and check your answers. For each wrong answer, write the correct answer and be sure the information is in your notes. (Answers start on P. 146)