This is a "living document" subject  to change

Dr. Kenneth M. Steele

Smith Wright 310F

Office Hours: Monday 1-3; Tuesday 1-3 (Obtain the calendar link for a meeting in AsULearn or on my Home page)  

phone: 262-2272 (Main Office - leave a message)

email: steelekm@appstate.edu

Textbook: S. Yantis & R. A. Abrams (2017). Sensation and Perception.

Online material: www.appstate.edu/~steelekm/

Description of the course:

This is an introductory survey course on perception. Historically, the study of perception is one of the first areas to emerge in psychology, and is concerned with the question of how we know the world. Answers involve being able to bridge three topic areas: a description of the physical stimulus (what is light? What happens when light rays strike an object and are reflected toward you?), how our bodies react to that stimulus (what happens when those reflected light rays hit the back of our eyes?), and the relation of both of those to our perceptual experience (That is an apple and it looks ripe and ready to eat!). So be prepared to do skipping back and forth as we will integrate physics, physiology, and subjective experience. Our goal is to link together the three domains.

The course is broken into four sections. The first section is concerned with the psychophysical method. It covers methods to measure psychological experience.  This sections covers the methods by which people establish the relationship between physical events and subjective experience. The psychophysical method is both a philosophy about how to think about the world and a set of techniques derived from that philosophy. Next we will move to vision, the most investigated system. We will begin with some basic physics, physiology, and then move into an analysis of the basic dimensions of brightness, color, and form. In the next section, we will examine the perception of space, motion, and form (again). In the final section, we will cover audition, the next most investigated system. In all cases we will be connecting 3 descriptive systems-- physics (description of the world), physiology (description of body reactions to the world), and the perceptual experience-- to understand the tasks and goals of the perceptual system.

What this course is NOT about.  This course is not about why some people prefer red and others prefer green or why some people like classic rock and other people prefer hip-hop.  The job of the perceptual system is to allow you to get about the world safely.  This is a very complicated task, as seen in the failures of self-driving cars to avoid objects.  But, you will learn a lot about how we can do so.

And, yes, you will see some cool illusions. You will receive a pair of genuine 3D glasses during the course.

Structure of the classes:

The course is  in-person this semester. The in-class experience is the best for you and the most fun for me.  I use a variety of technologies in class including chalkboard, PPT, web-sites, and interactive videos.  I am back to the classroom from the gloom of zoom and software is always changing.  What worked last semester may not work this semester.  You may expect things to fail or blow-up but we will muddle through because we can do so.

Most of the material I will use in class is contained on my web site. Go to http://www.appstate.edu/~steelekm and click on the link to this class (PSY 3215). The "Topics" link will take you to the in-class material. An alternative is to use the class AsuLearn site where there will be a link also. Each cell contains a variety of links. Some links are central to the topic and some links are there because they prove useful should certain questions pop up in class. Some links are there because I am experimenting with different ways of presenting material. Think of the web site as like a typical textbook.  It is a repository of possible class material. It is not a novel to be read from the first page to the end. The important point is that you should not treat the links as a Powerpoint slide show, to be viewed from from first to last for an equal amount of time. You will learn in class which are the important links to understand.  Tests are based on the material we cover in class. This is why it is important to attend class.

Daily format:  The class is taught in face to face format. Learning material is not like watching a TV show.  You will get the opportunity to ask me questions, even simple ones.  One good thing is that the material is permanently housed on http://www.appstate.edu/~steelekm and AsuLearn.  If you miss something then you can get the material later.  I encourage you to grab and download important figures for study.

You may be asking yourself whether the classes will be recorded for your later viewing pleasure.  The basic answer is No.  There are several technical reasons. I move about a lot in class, and will be moving in and out of the range of the camera and microphone  Another reason is that you don't want to binge on 20 hours of me before a test.  It will be both very painful and not work.

Notes, Notes, Notes!  Diagrams, Diagrams, Diagrams!:  Other items you will need are a spiral-bound notebook (or notebook pages), pen or pencil, a straight edge (cheap ruler or even your ID card), and a cheap calculator (or the calculator function on your phone or PC).  You will take lots of notes in this class.  You will be drawing diagrams, and I will be explaining how to read/interpret them.  Calculations will be simple.  The calculator will make sure that you are not tripped up by simple math errors.

Office Hours: The AsuLearn site and my home page will contain a link to schedule office meetings.  These will be in-person meetings at my office (Room 310F, Smith-Wright).  If you need to do the meeting by zoom then contact me in advance by email and we can arrange that the meeting.

Masks: The official stance of ASU is that masks are no longer required for class meetings.  I will not be wearing a mask because I am double vaccinated and have had three booster shots.  If you feel the need to wear a mask then do so.  If you see another student wearing a mask then assume that student has a good reason for doing so.  Always be gracious and kind.

Daily Topics Link: The topics web page shows you the general sequence of lectures.  Go to www.appstate.edu/~steelekm --> PSY 3215 --> Topics. Notice that most cells do not have dates attached to them, except for important stuff like tests. Topics within a class are often separated by horizontal dashes. This indicates a change in subtopic.  Don't be too scared by the number of topics on the web page.  We will cover what we cover.  The course is not a death march through the Sahara.  I may add or switch topics based on your comments, such as diagnosis and problems of color blindness or hearing loss. (HINT:  It is good to ask questions.)  Tests are based on what we cover in class.(HINT: Another good reason to come to class.)

One of the fun aspects of studying perception is that the effects are easy to see with just one subject, and that subject can be yourself. SO I provide many mini-experiments/demonstrations for the class. I put the demonstrations and figures on my website so that you can look at them at other times.  We shall see how they work with other systems and other software.

Tests and grades and life (Oh my!):

I use multiple-choice tests.  There will be 4 multiple-choice exams and dates are on the topics page.  Each exam is preceded by a question-and-answer class where you may ask me to review a topic.  There will be a study guide prior to the question-and-answer class so that you will know my expectations of you.

Percentage score grades will be posted, anonymously, on the topics web page under the test-date cell. Final grades are posted on Banner. Grades are not posted on AsuLearn.

I will drop your lowest grade in the computation of your final grade if you take the fifth test.  (The lowest grade is hit with a Zap-o-matic blast and disappears completely.)  The final letter grade will be assigned on a 10- point scale (100-90, A; 89-80, B; 79-70, C; 69-60, D; below 60, F). Pluses and minuses will be assigned for averages that are 2 points from a higher or 2 points from a lower grade (e.g., C+ for a 78 or 79, C- for a 70 or 71).

Attendance and life (Oh my!):

Attendance is expected.  I will call attendance for some number of classes because I want to connect names and faces. I will have sign-in attendance sheets distributed on a somewhat random basis (i.e., not every class).  Regular attendance is very important.  This is not the kind of material that you can fake-it with a review the night before a test.

Also, be warned that many of the links that you get from Google, if you try a last minute cram session, have completely bogus and wrong information.  I use Google all the time and am amazed at the wrong information commonly provided. Just remember "*.com" means it is a commercial business and not, necessarily, your accurate, trusty friend.

I know who attends class because I remember faces. I will sweeten the deal.  If you are signed in on 75% of the attendance sheets then you get an extra point added to your final grade.

Please, Please, Please ask questions. I know that asking questions in class can be scary for some but don’t let the moment of confusion pass by. Don’t worry about the rest of the class, your job is to make sure that you understand the material.  I am not bothered by questions.  My job is to help you and all of you to succeed.