Perception & Cognition 2 - PSY00017I
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2026-27 |
Module aims
This module builds on topics covered in Perception and Cognition 1, with a greater emphasis on higher level perceptual processing, emotion and cognition, problem solving and attention. This leads onto how knowledge of the principles of perception and cognition can be applied in the real world. The module will provide students with an opportunity to learn about the models and empirical research within these key areas of cognitive psychology.
Module learning outcomes
- Evaluate key theories of attention and the empirical evidence supporting them.
- Assess how attentional processes are studied in real-world contexts and the implications of attentional limits for everyday behaviour.
- Evaluate the experimental methods used to study reasoning and decision making
- Identify the major theories that have driven research in reasoning and decision making
- Explain the neurophysiological processes and major psychological theories underlying how we perceive complex stimuli (faces, bodies and actions)
- Describe and compare different psychological research on how emotion influences cognition
- Evaluate the accuracy of human ability to facematch
Module content
The first part of this course looks at how attention shapes what we perceive, think about, and ultimately do. You will learn why attention is necessary in a brain with limited processing capacity, how information is selected across space, time, objects, and features, and how alerting, orienting, and executive control systems work together to guide behaviour. Using classic experiments alongside real-world examples—such as multitasking, driving, and medical decision-making—we will explore when attention works well, when it fails, and why these limits have important consequences for everyday cognition.
This module will then focus on visual perception, how we see and make sense of the faces, bodies and actions of other people. It will examine visual processing, perception of objects and brain mechanisms underlying perceptual processing.
The third part of the course concerns emotion and cognition beginning with a general overview of emotion and the brain systems mediating our emotional processes. The course will then go on to cover how emotion affects core basic cognitive processes such as memory, learning, perception and attention.
The final section of the course concerns reasoning and decision-making. Students will study psychological research that has explored how we reason, solve problems and make judgements and decisions. The psychological theories central to these topics will also be discussed.
During Skills Weeks, students will be collecting and analysing data relating to the human ability to facematch. You will also learn how to design experiments using the online tool ‘Gorilla’.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) | 50.0 |
| Essay/coursework | 50.0 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) | 50.0 |
| Essay/coursework | 50.0 |
Module feedback
The marks on all assessed work will be provided on e-vision
Indicative reading
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.