When people perceive the world, what they see is based on the physics of light reflecting off surfaces and entering their eyes. Their brain then processes the raw data so that photoreceptor activity becomes perceptual awareness. Most textbooks and chapters on sensation and perception follow this formula, building student understanding of…

In this article, we discuss the ways in which psychology educators can assist students who have color vision deficiency (CVD). We outline basic information concerning CVD, offer tips for instructors to help students with CVD access content materials in the classroom, and suggest class activities to help all psychology students learn about CVD.

Eight visual effects of interest in a discussion of perception and a ninth, complex effect requiring prior preparations and polaroid filters are described. (Author/JH)

Speculates on potential importance of pure research. States that before recent synthesis of findings in areas of paleontology, historical geology, and astronomy, it was not obvious that research in any of these areas--particularly the extinction of the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago--would ever have the slightest bearing on the question of…

Describes a demonstration for college-level cognitive psychology classes of Miller's "Magical Number Seven" concept of the limitation of sensory capacity for processing information. Students report on the number of pennies they observed in a box after viewing the coins for two seconds. Demonstration results consistently support Miller's…

Describes a perceptual illusion, the Janus mask, for use in introductory psychology demonstrations. Suggests using a motor or videotaped image to rotate the mask, giving the impression that the mask is following a moving observer or oscillating. Recommends the illusion to show that perception is usefully conceptualized as hypothesis testing. (DK)

A laboratory exercise is described in which students view the environment through a transparent frontal parallel plane. The relationship of projected size to distance can be studied, and other cues to distance based on this geometric relationship can be appreciated. (Author/AV)

Explains that in order for students to understand statistics, they must develop their spatial and visual skills for manipulating numerical data. Describes the use of an inexpensive, low-tech teaching device that is constructed of modeling clay and cardboard in order to overcome this visual barrier when teaching a blind student statistical…

Describes a classroom demonstration that uses a video clip of a robbery from the film "Robocop" to illustrate the fallibility of eyewitness testimony. Students view the clip and complete a multiple-choice test concerning the episode. The ubiquitous poor test performance can be used for an interesting and productive discussion. (MJP)

Identifies a function generator as an instrument that produces time-varying electrical signals of frequency, wavelength, and amplitude. Sending these signals to a speaker or a light-emitting diode can demonstrate how specific characteristics of auditory or visual stimuli relate to perceptual experiences. Provides specific instructions for using…

Discusses the size-weight illusion that occurs when a person lifts two equal-weight objects differing in size and perceives the larger object as lighter than the small object. Describes several inexpensive techniques for demonstrating the size-weight illusion and reviews some relevant issues concerning this phenomena. (MJP)

Argues that external cues provide affective information that influence processing strategy and, therefore, examination performance. Notes the differences in performance for two midterm examinations, identical, except that they were printed on blue and red paper. Discusses a method for appropriately adjusting scores to control for form effects.…

Maintains that having students estimate the size and width of a class waste paper can (placed on a desk) is a simple and effective way of illustrating perceptual distortion. Tests show that people will consistently overestimate the height of the can, allowing for a useful discussion on sensory distortion. (MJP)

Outlines a simple classroom demonstration that illustrates Piagetian conservation. Piagetian conservation refers to the illusion of an increase in mass by changing an object's form. This demonstration, done by forming an ellipse with an extension cord, shows that college students are as susceptible to this effect as are young children. (MJP)