Warning! This unit contains mature content and may not be suitable for some students. Any student under the age of 16 who would like to enrol in this unit must first complete a Parental Consent Form.
Undergraduate MAQ-PSYX2247-2022
Perception
Previously MAQ-PSYX247
Weigh up what we believe is real and what is learned. Dive into the major senses, with a focus on vision. Investigate sense-specific questions such as how 3D movies work, how we know which way is up, and why some people are colour-blind.
Enrolments for this year have closed. Keep exploring subjects.
Duration
18 weeks
Study method
100% Online
Available loans
- FEE-HELP
Assessments
Subjects may require attendance
Prior study
Required
QS RANKING 2022
13
Times Higher Education Ranking 2022
11
Subject details
On successful completion of this subject, you will be able to:
- Identify, define and demonstrate an understanding of the key terms, physiological processes, research findings and theories related to human perception
- Interpret, synthesise and critically evaluate theories and empirical research in human perception
- Appreciate the difference between the real world (what is) and the phenomenological world (what seems to be), and explain 'real world' perceptual phenomena.
- Recognise ethical challenges in perception research involving children and animals.
-
- 1. Introduction, Principles and Methods
- 2. The Body Senses and the Chemical Senses
- 3. Auditiory perception
- 4. Light, Eye & Brain, and Spatial Vision
- 5. Visual Development
- 6. Object Perception
- 7. Multisensory Integration
- 8. Depth Perception
- 9. Motion Perception
- 10. Colour Vision
- 11. Face Perception
Equivalent subjects
You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:
- MAQ-PSYX247-Perception I (No longer available)
You must have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject:
one of- MAQ-PSYX1102-Introduction to Psychology II
- MAQ-PSYX1105-Introduction to Psychology II (No longer available)
- MAQ-PSYX105-Introduction to Psychology II (No longer available)
Others
Pre-requisite PSYX1102 or PSYU1102 or PSYX105 or PSYX1105 NCCW (pre-2020 units) PSYX247, PSY247, PSY237 NCCW (2020 and onwards) PSYU2247 Perception
Additional requirements
- Other requirements -
Students who have an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion under Macquarie University's Academic Progression Policy are not permitted to enrol in OUA units offered by Macquarie University. Students with an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion who have enrolled in units through OUA will be withdrawn.
Perception, using the senses, is an organism's only link to the outside world. As the only method for our brain to absorb information, perceptual processes mediate what we believe is real and everything we have ever learned. This unit investigates the mechanisms of perception through all of the major senses, giving special attention to the best understood sense of all: vision. We explore aspects from the physiological bases of the senses to the rich and complex experiences and illusions that they produce, answering questions such as 'How do 3D movies work?', 'How do we know which way is up?', 'Why are some people colour-blind?', 'What do wine-tasters know that I don't?', 'How can we tell the pitch of a musical note?', and 'How do we tell our friends from strangers?'
- online quizzes (16%)
- Online practical quiz (9%)
- mid semester test (Online test) (25%)
- invigilated examination (50%)