Perception and cognition

This unit covers a variety of perceptive and cognitive processes. In the first half, you will study auditory and visual perception, as well as language comprehension. Coding mechanisms common to different modalities are emphasised to help you understand general mechanisms of sensory coding and perceptual processing. The second half of the unit encompasses the acquisition, organisation, and retrieval of knowledge and aims to cover cognitive psychology more generally. Topics include memory, attention, awareness, consciousness and knowledge, as well as higher-order thinking such as moral judgement and decision making. You will also be introduced to detailed aspects of current research projects related to visual and auditory perception and cognition through discussions of the theoretical background and experimental methodologies employed in the contemporary exploration of human sensation, perception, and cognition.