PSYCHOL 2006 - Foundations of Perception & Cognition

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2020

This course builds on the course components of the biological bases of behaviour, perception, and cognition studied in Psychology IA and Psychology IB. The aim of this course is to build a solid foundation in both perception and cognition. Students will examine how the brain processes sensory information to create a coherent representation of the environment and to allow individuals to perform daily activities. Students will explore the visual system from the simple detection of light to using visual information to control movements and will examine topics in cognition such as attention, memory, concept learning, judgement and decision making, and language. The focus will be upon understanding basic principles and theories as well as their potential application to real world problems such as eyewitness testimony, autobiographical memory, language development and problem solving. Previous or concurrent enrolment in PSYCHOL 2004 - Doing Research in Psychology is assumed.

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Course Details

Course Code	PSYCHOL 2006
Course	Foundations of Perception & Cognition
Coordinating Unit	Psychology
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	(PSYCHOL 1000 and PSYCHOL 1001 and PSYCHOL 1004) or (PSYCHOL 1000 and PSYCHOL 1001 and PSYCHOL 1005) or (PSYCHOL 1100)
Corequisites	PSYCHOL 2004
Assumed Knowledge	PSYCHOL 2004
Assessment	Online exercises, written assignments, tutorial attendance, written exam

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Carolyn Semmler

Additional academic staff: Assoc Prof Carolyn Semmler ; carolyn.semmler@adelaide.edu.au
Dr Matthew Dry; Email matthew.dry@adelaide.edu.au;
Assoc Prof Anna Ma-Wyatt; anna.mawyatt@adelaide.edu.au
Dr Mark Kohler; mark.kohler@adelaide.edu.au

School of Psychology Office: Ph +61 8313 5693; Email psychologyoffice@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1.   Define and distinguish the methods used by cognitive psychologists and psychophysicists to understand human behaviour
2.   Explain key mechanisms and define key theories within the sub-fields of perception, memory, decision making and language
3.   Develop and define testable hypotheses based on theories of cognition and perception
4.   Assess support for hypotheses using data generated by experimental investigations of cognition and perception.
5.   Summarise key findings from research in perception and cognition
6.   Relate everyday experiences and behaviour to explanations based on scientific knowledge generated by the field of perception and cognition.
7.   Understand and present the results of a literature review, results of an experimental investigation and conclusions based on experimental research.
8.   Use correct APA format for presentation and referencing (APA 6th Edn.)
9.   Understand the strengths and limitations of research methodologies used in perception and cognition, including cultural and ethical considerations.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,3,4,5
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	2,3,4,9
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	7,8
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	6,7,8
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	7,9

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Goldstein, E. Bruce (2015). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research and Everyday Experience (4th Edn). Wadsworth: Belmont, CA.

Mather, G. (2009). Foundations of Sensation and Perception. Psychology Press: London, UK.

Both texts available at Unibooks. Older editions (2011) of Goldstein may also be used, however, reference to page numbers and chapters may not correspond and students will need to determine the corresponding page numbers for each section of the course.

For additional information regarding required resources please refer to the relevant Undergraduate Program Handbook at the following link:

Online Learning

This course may use MyUni for one or more of the following:

•    Communication with students via Announcements and Discussion Board
•    Submission of assessment
•    Access to lecture recordings
•    Access to tutorial materials
•    Additional readings
•    Self-directed learning activities
•    Exam preparation materials

Link to MyUni:

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course will involve a series of lectures on each of the topics of perception, memory, decision making and language. These lectures are supported by a face-to-face tutorial, online activities and readings.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Face-to-Face Contact Hours
2 hours per week in Lectures over a 12 week period (Total 24 hours)
4 hours per semester in Tutorials as scheduled (Total 4 hours)

Revision of Material/ Tutorial Preparation
2 hours per lecture (4 hours per week) revision of lecture content and set readings (Total 48 hours)
2 hours per topic on self-directed learning activities (Total 8 hours)

Assessment Tasks
10 hours preparation of experimental tasks & 20 hours locating, reading and assimilating background material for preparation of the practical report (Total 30 hours)
4 hours preparation for quizzes (4 hours)
Exam revision as required (approx. 35 hours)
End of semester examination (3 hours)

Total time commitment: 156 hours

Learning Activities Summary

A detailed course timetable is provided under the Course Information area in MyUni.

Week	Topic	Lecture
Week 1	Perception	Introduction to perception/ Notes on Methods
Week 2	Perception	Spatial vision/Body senses and binocular vision
Week 3	Perception	Motion perception/Attention
Week 4	Memory+Cognition	Sensory memory/Attention
Week 5	Memory+Cognition	Attention/Short Term memory
Week 6	Memory+Cognition	Problem Solving/Working memory
Week 7	Memory/Decision Making	Long Term memory/Introduction to decision making
Week 8	Decision Making	Normative/Descriptive DM
Week 9	Decision Making	Prescriptive DM/Medical DM
Week 10	Decision Making/Neuro	Legal DM/Neuroscience of perception
Week 11	Neuroscience	Neuroscience of memory/Neuroscience of DM
Week 12	Neuroscience	Neuroscience of cognition/Overview

Disclaimer: This program is provisional and subject to change

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Assessment Type	Weighting	Learning Outcome(s) being addressed
Exam	Summative (See Examinations for date)	50%	1, 2, 5, 6 & 9
Practical Report	Summative (See My Uni for due date)	30%	3, 4, 7 & 8
Tutorial Attendance	Summative	4%	1, 2, 5 & 9
Quizzes	Summative (See My Uni for due date)	16%	1, 2, 5 & 6

Assessment Related Requirements

Detailed information on searching for psychology resources using the internet are available from the Library (see Maureen Bell, the Psychology subject librarian).

Help with writing for Psychology is available via the Writing Centre

Assessment Detail

The Course Learning Outcomes are assessed as follows:

Exam. The exam will consist of a combination of multiple choice questions and short answer questions. All readings and lectures over the course of the semester may be assessed. Details of exam times are available via the examinations web site.

Tutorials. Attendance at tutorials is required. The tutorials require active attention and participation from every student in order to be maximally beneficial. For this reason, 4% of your final grade reflects tutorial attendance.

Quizzes. Each of the four topics will be associated with a 10-question quiz available on MyUni in the Assignments tab. Each quiz is worth 4% of your grade, and can cover content from either the readings or the lectures for that section. You will be able to print out the questions and answer them later (i.e., you do not have to answer everything the first time you log on; however, you can only submit once, so be careful!).

Prac report: Practical reports will be worth 30% of the grade and are explained fully in the Prac Report folder (found in the Assignments tab on MyUni).

Please refer to the Level II Psychology Handbook and the General Handbook for Undergraduate Psychology students (available at the links below) for further details relating to assessment

Submission

Please refer to the General Handbook for Undergraduate Psychology students (available at the link below) for details on submission process/requirements, penalties for late submission, the process of applying for extensions, and the staff “turn-around” timeline on assessments and the provision of feedback and policy relating to re-submission/redemptive work.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

The 成人大片 is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The 成人大片 therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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