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You’ll also explore the differences between perception and sensation and how they work together with attention to determine what we perceive in the environment. Before you finish, you’ll investigate why psychologists study sensation to better understand perception, which is a key component of our behaviour and mental processes.
What topics will you cover?
- Sensation versus perception
- Waves and wavelengths
- Vision, hearing and other senses
- Illusions and psychology
- Principles of perception
Learning on this course
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...
- Explain the structure and function of the sensory systems of vision, audition, touch, taste, and smell.
- Assess the extent to which the processes of transduction and coding are common to all senses or specific to each different sense.
- Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the main types of psychophysical methods.
- Interpret some of the ways perceptual elements, including edges and contours, are perceptually grouped (Gestalt principles).
- Evaluate the mechanisms of perceptual constancies.
Who is the course for?
This introductory course is for anyone interested in psychology - you don’t need any past experience.
It might be of particular use to learners who have already completed a Bachelor degree in other disciplines who are interested in expanding their science and research skills.