Psychology 444

Sensation and Perception

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Sensation and Perception (0)

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Week 0-1 Topics

• Introduction• Class Syllabus and Course Organization• Where in science are we?

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Lesson 0-1: Introduction

• Dr. Brian P. Dyre• Associate Professor of Experimental

Psychology/Neuroscience• Research: Visual perception of motion, visual navigation,

computational modeling of human vision, virtual displays, physiological measures of mental workload, augmented cognition

• Teaching: Sensation & Perception, Engineering Psychology, Human Factors, Physiological Psychology

• Educational Background• B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Clarkson University (1986)• M.A., Experimental Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-

Champaign (1989)• Ph.D., Experimental Psychology, University of Illinois,

Urbana-Champaign (1993)• Post-doctoral Research Appointments: Beckman Institute,

UIUC, Air Force Research Laboratory

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Class Syllabus and Course Organization

• What’s the class about?• Required materials• Class requirements and Grades• Class policies

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Where in Science are We?

• The goal of science is to understand the world around us

• The core of science is logic and reason, whose western roots can be traced to the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle

• Mathematics is simply a language for expressing logical relationships, hence it is the language of science

Logic and Math

All Science

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Where in Science are We?

• Science can be envisioned as a collection of topics that surround this core much like the layers of an onion

• Each layer connects the layers lying within it to the layers lying outside it, and the layers proceed from the microscopic to macroscopic to cosmic levels of scale

Logic and Math

Nuclear

Physics

Chemistry

Biology

Geology

Psychology

Medicine

SociologyEconomics

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Where in Science are We?

• Science is defined by method, not by topic – all science uses the scientific method

• Non-science uses other methods to establish knowledge (e.g., authority, faith)

• Scientific method is based on logical reasoning and systematic observation (empiricism)

Logic and Math

Nuclear

Physics

Chemistry

Biology

Geology

Psychology

Medicine

SociologyEconomics

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Science and Proof

• The scientific method cannot logically prove anything, it can only disprove

• Scientific method operates on the logical principle of disproof or disconfirmation• Multiple theories can be proposed to explain any

phenomenon• The predictions of these theories are compared

to empirical data • Theories must therefore make specific predictions

that can be tested• Theories that make predictions counter to the data

are disconfirmed • Disconfirmed theories are reformulated or

abandoned

Proof

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Class Syllabus and Course Organization

• What’s the class about?• Required materials• Class requirements and Grades• Class policies

SyllabusClass Web Page