Course Syllabus, Winter, 1998
Mondays 12:30 - 4:15 p.m., Psychology Room 243
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia
Office: 241 Psychology Building; Phone: 542-6790
Email: jfrick@egon.psy.uga.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday, 1:30 to 2:20, and by appointment
Psychology 885 is a graduate survey course on ontogenetic changes in perception. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the empirical and theoretical literatures on the development of perception across the lifespan, and for each student to be conversant in both the classic studies, and current topics in the field. Topics to be covered include changes in visual, auditory, olfactory, spatial, and depth perception from infancy to adulthood.
Course Materials
Readings will be primary (journal articles) and secondary (book chapters) source materials. Readings will be made available to students to photocopy or check out; in addition, most are available at the Main or Science library.
Grades will be based on performance in the following four areas:
1. Weekly class participation and discussion questions (20%). For each reading, you will bring to class two discussion questions (either typed or printed neatly). The questions can be points of confusion, issues for further consideration, follow-up research ideas, etc. Be sure to bring a set of two questions for each reading. You are expected to attend class and participate in discussions, both by sharing your discussion questions and participating in the general discussion. Due to the small number of times this class meets and the nature of the material, I reserve the right to lower your grade one full letter if you miss more than 10% of the scheduled class meetings (except in cases of absences excused by me, preferably in advance).
2. Discussion Leader (25%). You will be assigned as a Discussion Leader one week. Your responsibility as discussion leader is to give an introductory tutorial to the topic (including major theoretical issues, methodological concerns, historical background), lead class discussion on the assigned articles for that topic (including discussion questions written by other students), and provide a detailed discussion of at least two other empirical studies in the area. That is, you will need to seek out at least two additional studies which you will read, in addition to the assigned material. We will assign Discussion Leader topics on January 19, so be thinking about what topic you are interested in.
3. Occasional position papers (25%). I will hand out two or three questions or issues for you to address in a position paper. These papers should be no longer than 3 pages (typed, double-spaced, 1" margins).
4. Research Proposal (30%). A 15-25 page research proposal is due by 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 11. The paper will propose an experiment (or series of experiments) in any area of perceptual development. The paper should be in APA format (see the 1994 Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 4th Edition, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association). Your research proposal should have an introduction, a detailed method section, and a discussion section. An abstract (100-150 words) of your paper, a list of at least five references, and a copy of the title pages of those references, are due Wednesday, February 4. The abstract is a description of your idea; thus, you must have thought about your topic and done some reading by this time in order to write a reasonable abstract. In order to be sure that your paper is based on recent, primary research, at least two of your references must be dated 1987 or later, and at least two must be journal articles describing original empirical research (i.e., not review articles). In addition, turning in a photocopy of the title pages of those references ensures that you are finding references that are accessible. Although you are not required to use these exact references in your final paper, your final paper must include a minimum of two references from 1987 or later, and a minimum of two empirical journal articles. You cannot change the topic of your proposal after you have turned in your abstract unless you have permission from me.
Additional notes on the research proposal:
1. Avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as stealing or passing off the ideas or words of another as one's own, or using an idea or product without crediting the source. This includes quoting passages you read without properly giving credit to the author. In general, you should rephrase the words of the original author, and properly cite the original source. If you feel it necessary to quote the original author word for word, use quotation marks (see APA manual); however, direct quotes should not be overused, and should generally be used only for well-worded summaries or conclusions. Plagiarism can result in a grade of "F" for the course, and/or expulsion from the university.
2. Always go to the primary source, if available. Don't trust anyone but yourself to interpret an article. Generally, you should not reference a work unless you have read it (unless it is in a foreign language, is classified, or is unavailable and is absolutely essential to your paper).
3. Use references properly. References are used to support an assertion (for example, "visual acuity is poor in newborn infants." What research is this claim based on? Such assertions require references to support them). All references in the text must be in the reference list, and all references in the reference list must be cited in the text (see APA manual).
4. I will not read more than 25 pages, excluding title page, references, and figures (double spaced, 12 point font, 1 inch margins). Part of good writing is learning how to say things clearly and concisely. Mark Twain was quoted as saying, in reference to one of his works, "If I'd had more time, I would have made it shorter."
Course Policies
A grade of "I" is not an option in this course, except in the case of illness or extreme and unforeseeable hardship. Papers are due at the beginning of the class period on the due date; late papers will be penalized ½ a grade on the due date and one letter grade each day after that.
Topic 1: Sensitive Periods/Early Experience (Week of January 12)
Aslin, R. (1985). Effects of experience on sensory and perceptual development: Implications for infant cognition. In J. Mehler & R. Fox (Eds.), Neonate cognition (pp. 157-183). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Colombo, J. (1982). The critical period concept: Research, methodology, and theoretical issues. Psychological Bulletin, 91, 260-275.
Gottlieb, G. (1981). Roles of early experience in species-specific perceptual development. In R. Aslin, J. R. Alberts, & M. R. Petersen (Eds.), Development of perception: Psychobiological perspectives (Vol. 1, pp. 5-44). New York, NY: Academic Press.
Topic 2: Auditory Perception (Week of January 19)
Colombo, J. (1985). Recent studies in early auditory development. In G. Whitehurst (Ed.), Annals of child development (Vol. 3, pp. 53-98). New York, NY: JAI Press. (Note: Read only pages 53-73).
Muir, D., & Clifton, R. K. (1985). Infants' orientation to the location of sound sources. In G. Gottlieb & N. Krasnegor (Eds.), Measurement of vision and audition in the first year of postnatal life (pp. 171-194). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Olsho, L. W. (1984). Infant frequency discrimination. Infant Behavior and Development, 7, 27-35.
Olsho, L. W., Schoon, C., Sakai, R., Turpin, R., & Sperduto, V. (1982). Auditory frequency discrimination in infancy. Developmental Psychology, 18, 721-726.
Schneider, B., & Trehub, S. (1985). Behavioral assessment of basic auditory abilities. In S. Trehub & B. Schneider (Eds.), Auditory development in infancy (p. 101-114). New York, NY: Plenum.
Schneider, B., Trehub, S., & Bull, D. (1980). High frequency sensitivity in infants. Science, 207, 1003-1004.
Topic 3: Speech Perception (Week of January 26)
Colombo, J. (1985). Recent studies in early auditory development. In G. Whitehurst (Ed.), Annals of Child Development (Vol. 3, pp. 53-98). New York, NY: JAI Press. (Note: Read only pages 73-91).
Cooper, R. P., & Aslin, R. N. (1990). Preference for infant-directed speech in the first month after birth. Child Development, 61, 1584-1595.
Kuhl, P. K., & Miller, J. D. (1975). Speech perception by the chinchilla: Voiced-voiceless distinction in alveolar plosive consonants. Science, 190, 69-72.
Walley, A.C., Pisoni, D. B., & Aslin, R. N. (1981). The role of early experience in the development of speech perception. In R. Aslin, J. R. Alberts, & M. R. Petersen (Eds.), Development of perception: Psychobiological perspectives (Vol. 1, pp. 219-255). New York, NY: Academic Press.
Werker, J. F. (1989). Becoming a native listener. Scientific American, 231, 54-59.
Werker, J. F., & Tees, R. C. (1983). Developmental changes across childhood in the perception of non-native speech sounds. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 37, 278-286.
Werker, J. F., & Tees, R. C. (1984). Cross-language speech perception: Evidence for perceptual reorganization during the first year of life. Infant Behavior and Development, 7, 49-63.
Topic 4: Visual Perception I (Week of February 2)
Banks, M. S., & Salapatek, P. (1981). Infant pattern vision: a new approach based on the contrast sensitivity function. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 31, 1-45.
Bard, K. A., Street, E. A., McCrary, C., & Boothe, R. G. (1995). Development of visual acuity in infant chimpanzees. Infant Behavior and Development, 18, 225-232.
Dobson, V. (1990). Behavioral assessment of visual acuity in human infants. In M. A. Berkley & W. C. Stebbins, (Eds.), Comparative Perception (pp. 487-521). New York: Wiley.
Skoff, E., & Pollack, R. H. (1969). Visual acuity in children as a function of hue. Perception & Psychophysics, 6, 244-246.
van Hof-van Duin, J., & Mohn, G. (1986). The development of visual acuity in normal fullterm and preterm infants. Vision Research, 26, 909-916.
Topic 5: Visual Perception II (Week of February 9)
Colombo, J., Laurie, C., Martelli, T., & Hartig, B. (1984). Stimulus context and infant orientation discrimination. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 37, 576-586.
Enns, J. T., & Girgus,, Joan S. (1985). Perceptual grouping and spatial distortion: A developmental study. Developmental Psychology, 21, 241-246.
Ghim, H. R., & Eimas, P. D. (1988). Global and local processing by 3- and 4-month-old infants. Perception & Psychophysics, 43, 165-171.
Hainline, L. (1978). Developmental changes in visual scanning of face and nonface patterns by infants. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 25, 90-115.
Quinn, P. C., & Eimas, P. D. (1986). On categorization in early infancy. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 32, 331-362.
Quittner, A. L., Smith, L. B., Osberger, M. J., Mitchell, T. V., & Katz, D. B. (1994). The impact of audition on the development of visual attention. Psychological Science, 5, 347-353.
Topic 6: Perceptual Illusions (Week of February 16)
Guest lecturer: Dr. Robert Pollack, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Georgia
Pollack, R. H. (1969). Some implications of ontogenetic changes in perception. In D. Elkind and J. H. Flavell (Eds.), Studies in Cognitive Development (pp. 365-407). New York: Oxford.
Pollack, R. H. (1970). Mueller-Lyer illusion: Effect of age, lightness contrast, and hue. Science, 170, 93-95.
Pollack, R. H. (1976). Illusions and perceptual development: A tachistoscopic psychophysical approach. In K. F. Riegel and J. A. Meacham (Eds.), The Developing Individual in a Changing World (Vol. 1, pp. 233-243). Chicago: Mouton.
Pollack, R. H. (1989). The non-developmental nature of perceptual aging. In M. A. Luszcz and T. Nettelbeck (Eds.), Psychological Development: Perspectives Across the Life-Span (pp. 369-376). North-Holland: Elsevier.
Pollack, R. H., & Atkeson, B. M. (1978). A life-span approach to perceptual development. In P. B. Baltes (Ed.), Life-Span Development and Behavior (pp. 85-109). New York: Academic Press.
Topic 7: Depth/Space Perception (Week of February 23)
Campos, J. J., Langer, A., & Krowitz, A. (1970). Cardiac responses on the visual cliff in prelocomotor human infants. Science, 170, 196-197.
Fabricius, W. V., & Wellman, H. M. (1993). Two roads diverged: young children's ability to judge distance. Child Development, 64, 399-414.
Fox, R., Aslin, R. N., Shea, S. L., & Dumais, S. T. (1980). Stereopsis in human infants. Science, 207, 323-324.
Gibson, E. J., & Walk, R. D. (1960). The "visual cliff." Scientific American, 202, 64-71.
Newcombe, N., & Dubas, J. S. (1992). A longitudinal study of predictors of spatial ability in adolescent females. Child Development, 63, 37-46.
Richards, J. E., & Rader, N. (1981). Crawling-onset age predicts visual cliff avoidance in infants. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 7, 382-387.
Yonas, A., & Granrud, C. E. (1985). Development of visual space perception in young infants. In J. Mehler & R. Fox (Eds.), Neonate Cognition (pp. 45-68). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Topic 8: Olfactory/Gustatory Perception (Week of March 2)
Crook, C. (1987). Taste and olfaction. In P. Salapatek & L. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of infant perception (Vol. 1, pp. 237-264). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
Porter, R. H., Makin, J. W., Davis, L. B., & Christensen, K. M. (1991). An assessment of the salient olfactory environment of formula-fed infants. Physiology & Behavior, 50, 907-911.
Reisman, J. E. (1987). Touch, motion, and proprioception. In P. Salapatek & L. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of infant perception (Vol. 1, pp. 265-303). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
Rose, S. A., Gottfried, A. W., & Bridger, W. H. (1983). Infants' cross-modal transfer from solid objects to their graphic representations. Child Development, 54, 686-694.
Rosenstein, D., & Oster, H. (1988). Differential facial responses to four basic tastes in newborns. Child Development, 59, 1555-1568.
Topic 9: Aging (Week of March 9)
Kline, D. W., & Scialfa, C. T. (1997). Sensory and perceptual functioning: Basic research and human factors implications. In A. D. Fisk & W. A. Rogers (Eds.), Handbook of Human Factors and the Older Adult (pp. 27-54). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Lindenberger, U., & Baltes, P. B. (1994). Sensory functioning and intelligence in old age: A strong connection. Psychology and Aging, 9, 339-355.
Shinar, D., & Schieber, F. (1991). Visual requirements for safety and mobility of older drivers. Human Factors, 33, 507-519.
Whitbourne, S. K. (1996). The Aging Individual: Physical and Psychological Perspectives. Ch. 7, Sensation and Perception (p. 184-224). New York, NY: Springer.
Home Page for Dr. Janet Frick
Page last modified: January 22, 1998