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Perception & Cognition 1 - PSY00017C

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  • Department: Psychology
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: C
  • Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
    • See module specification for other years: 2023-24

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2024-25

Module aims

This module discusses the processes through which our primary senses (vision and hearing) gain and interpret information about our world and how this information is organised, stored in, and retrieved from memory.

Module learning outcomes

  • Give an account of the variety of methods that have been used in the study of cognition.
  • Describe the properties of sound and explain how it leads to the perception of loudness, pitch, timbre and perceived location.
  • Describe the theoretical approaches to, and empirical methods for, the investigation of human memory.
  • Describe the physiology of the eye and the early parts of the visual system and understand how these determine our perception of the world.

Module content

The first set of lectures in this module will provide a broad introduction to the field of experimental cognitive psychology and give a brief historical overview of the development of the discipline. Those lectures will also consider the nature of perception from a cognitive point of view and provide insights into some basic facts about visual cognition. They will introduce various key things that cognitive psychologists have discovered about effective learning and memory. The second set of lectures in the module will examine the processes through which one of our primary senses (hearing) gains and interprets information about our world. Those lectures will cover the fundamental properties of the sense of hearing: How our ears decode sounds; how we perceive the pitch of sounds; how we work out where sounds are coming from; and what goes wrong when someone loses their hearing and what we can do about it.

The third set of lectures on this module introduces different models of memory, sensory memory, the distinction between short-term and long-term memory, serial order effects, and forgetting in short-term memory. They will also cover the theory behind different types of memory training, the methodology used and several key studies. The fourth and final set of lectures will introduce students to the visual system. They will concentrate on the early stages of visual processing including how the eye works, how you see colour, motion and depth and how your visual system adapts itself continuously to work under a wide range of environments.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) 50
Essay/coursework 20
Essay/coursework 30

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) 50
Essay/coursework 20
Essay/coursework 30

Module feedback

The marks on all assessed work will be provided on e-vision.

Indicative reading

Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M.W., Anderson, M.C. (2015) Memory, Psychology Press, Taylor & Francis Group

Basic Vision: an introduction to visual perception. Snowden, R. Thompson, P. & Troscianko T. (2012) Oxford University Press

Cognitive Psychology. Quinlan, P. & Dyson, B. (2008) Pearson


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.