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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "PS 371"
COURSE NAME: "Illusions of the Mind: the Science of Perception"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Spring 2026
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Eleonora Vagnoni
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MW 3:00 PM 4:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisites: PS/NS 370 or PS 307
OFFICE HOURS:
Please send an email to book a one to one session
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course enables students to acquire in-depth knowledge and understanding of sensation and perception. Students will examine the physiological and psychological mechanisms underlying the major sensory systems and their roles in interpreting the world around us and the signals within ourselves, furthering their understanding of how we experience and interact with our environment. Students will engage with current research, case studies, and experimental techniques to deepen their understanding of sensory and perceptual processes.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The course will examine the main sensory system (i.e., visual, auditory, somatosensory, olfactory, and gustatory), including their anatomy, neural pathways, and related perceptual processes (e.g., color, music, affective touch). It will also address some of the “neglected” senses, such as the sense of body position (i.e., proprioception), the sensory mechanisms for detecting temperature changes, the neural pathways involved in thermoreception, as well as address internal bodily sensations and pain perception.
The course will include frontal lectures, brief in-class experiments, and practical sessions.
Students will engage with current research, case studies, and experimental techniques to deepen their understanding of sensory and perceptual processes. During selected sessions, students will have the opportunity, on a voluntary basis, to take part in structured experimental activities designed to demonstrate and explore various perceptual illusions, allowing them to
directly experience and analyze the phenomena discussed in class.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Develop a thorough understanding of the sensory systems involved in vision, audition, taste, smell, touch, proprioception, thermosensation, interoception, and nociception.
2. Analyze the physiological and neural mechanisms underlying each sensory modality.
3. Examine the psychological processes involved in the perception of sensory information.
4. Apply knowledge gained to better understand and critically evaluate empirical studies.
5. Develop the ability to compare, describe, analyse diverging arguments
6. Demonstrate effective scientific writing skills, using APA style
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TEXTBOOK:
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments |
| Sensation and Perception | Jeremy M. Wolfe, Dennis M. Levi, Lori L. Holt, Linda M. Bartoshuk, Rachel S. Herz, Roberta L. Klatzky, and Daniel M. Merfeld | Oxford University Press | 9780197663813 | | |
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Exams | During the semester (in week 5 and in week 11), 2 closed-book, in-person midterm
exams will be administered. The midterms will include multiple choice and short answers and
will review the assigned textbook readings, lectures, and additional material covered in the
preceding classes. Each midterm is non-cumulative and is worth 20% of the final grade. The final
exam will be cumulative, that is, it will cover anything that has been discussed throughout the
course, and is worth 30% of the final grade. (LOS 1, 2, and 3)
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| Essay | The Essay will be administered in class, in week 9. The assignment will consist of a
critical discussion of two diverging arguments. Students are expected
to have thoroughly read (at least) the two papers assigned by the lecturer at the beginning of
the course, so that they understand their main arguments, methodologies, results, and
conclusions. Students who engage in independent reading (i.e., they discuss additional scientific
literature not presented by the lecturer) will be rewarded with a higher mark. In week 7 students
will participate in a session aimed at guiding them in writing an essay (critical discussion).
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-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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SCHEDULE
Session 1 – Intro to the course, exploring the syllabus, the assessments’ methods and the grading system.
Discussion on the use of formative feedback, self- test (MCQs at the beginning of most of the sessions).
Presentation of some strategies to improve the learning experience.
Session 2 – the difference between SENSATION And PERCEPTION, overview on the brain anatomy
(difference between primary vs secondary and associative cortex)
Session 1 – MCQs on previous topic VISION: from light to neural signals.
Session 2 – short answer questions on previous topic. VISION: Spatial vision. In class experiment
exploring the visuo spatial illusions
Session 1– VISION: MCQs on previous topic. VISION: Perceiving objects
Session 2– short answer questions on previous topic. VISION: perception of color. Experiment in class on
perception of color and color illusions.
Session 1 – MCQs on previous topic. AUDITION: physiology and neural basis. Suggested paper
Session 2 – short answer questions on previous topic. AUDITION: Music perception and discussion of
single case studies.
Session 1 – Revision session before the midterm exam 1
Session 2 – MIDTERM EXAM in class [MCQs + short answers]
Session 1 - TOUCH: the physiology and neural basis of discriminative touch. In class activity on touch
acuity (small experiment). Suggested paper to discuss during the next session.
Session 2 – TOUCH: the physiology and neural basis of discriminative touch. Discussion of the paper in
class.
Session 1 - TOUCH: the physiology and neural basis of affective touch. In class activity on affective touch
(experiment).
Session 2 – Session on how to write an essay - critical evaluation of scientific literature
Session 1 – TASTE: the physiology and neural basis. In class experiment
Session 2 – MCQs on previous topic. PAIN: the physiology and neural basis.
Session 1 – PHYSICAL VS AFFECTIVE PAIN
Session 2 – Essay: Critical Evaluation of two diverging arguments discussing at least two scientific papers
Session 1 -- PROPRIOCEPTION
Session 2 – MCQs on previous topic. Discussion of the feedback on the Critical Evaluation
Session 1 Revision session before the midterm exam 2
Session 2. MIDTERM EXAM 2 in class [MCQs + short answers]
Session 1 - PROPRIOCEPTION. In class experiment on vestibular sensation. (Caloric stimulation of the
vestibular system)
Session 2 – MCQs on previous topic. OLFACTION. the physiology and neural basis In class experiment
(Lynx as in McGlone et al. (2013))
Session 1 – THERMOCEPTION the physiology and neural basis In class experiment.
Session 2 – MCQs on previous topic. INTEROCEPTION
Session 1 - INTEROCEPTION: in class activities
Session 2 – Revision before the Finals
Final ONLY MCQs
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