Visual Cognition

(2.5-4 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

PSY 20080 Visual Cognition at UCD; This course provides an introduction to the study of visual cognition, of how 'seeing' allows us perceive a world of meaningful objects, actions and events. The focus will be on higher-order processes in vision including face perception, object recognition, attention and scene perception and will include topics on social cognition (e.g., the perception of action and biological motion). The course introduces the various ways in which psychologists study visual cognition; through the study of the neural basis of visual cognition, through the use of experimental psychology, and by studying the changes in perceptual and cognitive function that occur as a result of brain injury. (Taught as PS 4084 "Psychology of Art: Aesthetics and individual differences in visual function" at University of Saint Andrews in Scotland.) AS The aim of the module is to develop an advanced understanding of the psychological processes involved in visual perception. The module extends basic knowledge of visual processing, from perceptual psychology and visual neuroscience, to how vision is used to interpret our complex world and to interact with it. We will consider the purpose and processes involved in using vision along two broad themes: recognising and interpreting the world via perception, and using vision to control our own actions in the world. The module will cover selected topics that illustrate the extraordinary range of problems our perceptual systems solve in the real world, including topics from: active vision (how do our visual systems allow us to function fast enough to drive a car, play fast-action sports), camouflage and search (how do we find and recognise objects in our cluttered world), material perception (how do we perceive things as dirty, smooth, shiny, patterned).