We humans, like other animals, spend much of our time sensing the physical world around us. We then behave as if our sensory systems operate as a perfect mirror, telling us about the physical world as it truly exists. However, one of the foundational discoveries of the science of Psychology is that THIS IS NOT SO. We are in fact experiencing a ‘VERSION’ of the world created by the human brain.  

Therefore, in this course we will take the position that there are TWO distinct realities - the physical world and the brain-generated psychological world. These PARALLEL REALITIES are so different that in many cases our psychological world bears little actual resemblance to the physical world. What the brain tells us about the world doesn't have to be true, it just has to be reliable. If high temperatures produced the taste of strawberry ice cream and cold temperatures produced the smell of rotten eggs, you would still know when it is summer and when it is winter (and summer would taste delicious!).

This course will focus on learning to think about how psychological and physical realities INTERACT. We will begin by examining the PHYSICAL characteristics of various stimuli (shown above is a frequency spectrogram of FJ’s voice as he pronounces the words ‘sensation and perception’). Then we’ll study how sensory systems BREAK physical stimuli down into spatial and temporal patterns of neural activity. Finally, we'll work at trying to understand how the brain's perceptual mechanisms REASSEMBLE sensory information to create the unique 'psychological version' of the world that we experience.

If you are wondering how all this could possibly be important to you, remember that the fact that our nation even exists is due in large part to human perception of taste. If the European continent hadn’t been cursed with such bland-tasting cuisine, Columbus might never have voyaged in search of a short cut to the spice trade! Human perceptual systems have played (and continue to play) a decisive role in our history, art, music, technology, religion, politics, economics, education, medicine – you name it. In so many ways, our human perceptual systems shape who we are, how we think, and what we feel. Needless to say, disorders of human perception lie at the root of much of our psychopathology (for example, several varieties of depression, anxiety, compulsions, hallucinations, and body dysmorphic syndromes). At some level, these disorders occur when our psychological reality ceases to function IN PARALLEL with physical reality.

One of the things that make human sensory/perceptual systems particularly fascinating is the extent to which we use these systems to COMMUNICATE with each other. To a degree, this sets us apart from all other animals. That is, while most animal sensory/perceptual systems are TUNED TO stimuli produced by SOME OTHER species (for example, the way a cat's visual and auditory systems are tuned to stimuli produced by small rodents or birds), human sensory/perceptual systems are TUNED TO stimuli produced by OTHER HUMANS. Yes, that’s right – in a rather dangerous move we've 'turned our backs' on the larger world of physical stimuli around us in order to focus on each other. However, this risky move has been one of the keys to our success as a species – it allows us to COMMUNICATE and work COOPERATIVELY in dynamic social groups.

Remarkably, these cooperative social interactions have allowed humans to ESCAPE the limitations of our motor AND sensory biology – while humans and a few other species (mostly primates and birds) have invented tools to exceed the biological limitations of animal motor systems, we are the ONLY SPECIES to invent tools designed specifically to exceed the limits of our sensory systems (to name a few – microscopes, telescopes, a variety of systems to detect and manipulate electromagnetic radiation). We will learn how the capability for high-level communication and dynamic social interaction is a fundamental property of human sensory/perceptual systems.

Unfortunately, while our knowledge of how sensory systems operate is becoming increasingly sophisticated, we still know very little of what perception is and exactly how it works. Nevertheless, your instructor will draw a clear distinction between sensation and perception by highlighting the ANALYTIC PROPERTIES of sensory systems and the SYNTHETIC PROPERTIES of perceptual systems. By 'synthetic' we mean that the brain's perceptual mechanisms have the ability to make stuff up – stuff that doesn't even exist (at least physically).

Now, while the idea of a brain that makes stuff up is certainly fun, be aware that a challenge lies ahead: We will take a neuroscience approach to the topic of sensation and perception. So we’ll spend some time reviewing a few basic principles of neural cell biology and brain anatomy before we get to the heart of the course. Actually, you will find that developing a basic understanding of how the brain and its neurons work is incredibly fun and interesting.

Course Book and Website

Sensation and Perception, 3rd edition (www.sinauer.com/wolfe)
    by Wolfe, Kluender, Levi, et al.

Course Grading

University Attendance Policy and Make-Up Exams

Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness.

MAKE-UP EXAMS:  In the event of an excused absence that forces you to miss an exam, you will be given an opportunity to make up the missed exam.  In order to maintain fairness in grading, it is the student's responsibility to provide documentation that will enable the instructor to understand the reason for the student's absence from class on the day of an exam. 

Academic Honor Policy

The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University’s expectations for the integrity of students’ academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to “. . . be honest and truthful and . . . [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University.” (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, which can be found at http://dof.fsu.edu/honorpolicy.htm.)

Americans With Disabilities Act

Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should:
(1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and (2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class.

This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.

For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the:

Student Disability Resource Center
874 Traditions Way
108 Student Services Building
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167
(850) 644-9566 (voice)
(850) 644-8504 (TDD)
sdrc@admin.fsu.edu
http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu/

Free Tutoring from FSU

For tutoring and writing help in any course at Florida State University, visit the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) Tutoring Services’ comprehensive list of tutoring options:

see http://ace.fsu.edu/tutoring or contact tutor@fsu.edu for more information.

High-quality tutoring is available by appointment and on a walk-in basis. These services are offered by tutors trained to encourage the highest level of individual academic success while upholding personal academic integrity.

Syllabus Change Policy

Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice.

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